101 Things To Do With Your Son
by Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet
Summary: Gabriel never thought his son would give up on him... Give up on their family. But it happened, and now he's left trying to pick up the pieces of the mess he created and glue them back together. Now if only Adrien would cooperate...
1. Chapter 1

Gabriel Agreste was not a friendly person. For a few years now, this fact had been an open secret among Parisians and anyone in the fashion industry alike.

Once upon a time, he may have gone far enough with that thought to say he wasn't a __social butterfly,__ but his days of making light of things and joking around had long since passed. He didn't really have a reason to anymore. Not since...

Well, he hadn't thought he had a reason until Adrien started pulling away.

It happened slowly. So slowly, in fact, that no one really noticed for months – over a year even. But to Gabriel, it all started to become apparent when he realized that he'd missed a fencing tournament that he hadn't even heard about until Nathalie informed him that Adrien had won. So he sent her with his congratulations and a request to please remember to inform Nathalie of any such events in the future. Naturally, Adrien agreed.

Then it happened again. So Gabriel reiterated his statement, a little more harshly. Nathalie gave his son's apologies saying that Adrien had told her it slipped his mind.

Then it happened with a piano recital.

A basketball game.

Another fencing tournament.

By that point, Gabriel figured that it was time to confront his son, and so he made the proper scheduling arrangements and called the younger Agreste before him.

At the proper time, Adrien walked into the room with a face almost as blank as the woman he followed, although Gabriel could see the makeup caked on under his eyes. Was the boy not sleeping? Nathalie gestured for him to stand in the center then stalked off to take her place at the side of the room, tablet in hand.

"Adrien," Gabriel said as he leaned back in his chair. "There has been an issue with you not informing me of your recitals and tournaments. Is there a reason for this?"

The boy just shrugged his shoulders, although he did look mildly uncomfortable. "Not really. I just forgot to tell you about them."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I have accounts here of no less than five different incidents, all within the last three months. You were reminded to let us know. I didn't think your memory was that bad."

He expected his son to get angry at the slight accusation. Instead, to his surprise, Adrien didn't answer, but his father did note how the teen's hands curled into fists. Not tight ones, though. He frowned.

"Adrien, I need to know about these things."

The boy cocked his head. "Why?"

He sounded genuinely curious. Gabriel blinked, slightly taken back at the obviousness of the answer to his question. "So I can schedule them."

The look on the boys face became incredulous. "So you can... why schedule them? You never come."

Ah, and there was the root of the matter.

"I have a full schedule."

Adrien shook his head a little. "A full schedule. That's your excuse again?"

"Excuse?" Gabriel scoffed, voice going cold. "It is the reason you have a roof over your head and everything you want."

For a moment he thought his son would explode or back down. He usually responded with one or the other and this time looked no different. But then, Adrien seemed to deflate. "The sad thing is, you honestly believe that."

The older Agreste's eyes narrowed. "What more could you possibly want?"

Adrien looked away. "Nothing you can give," he said.

Well, he would not indulge a selfish, childish whim. "You will inform me of these recitals and tournaments in the future. Are we clear?"

For several seconds, his son just stared at him.

"Well?"

Then he shook his head. "I don't want you to come."

That managed to surprise Gabriel again. "Excuse me?"

Adrien sighed. "You don't care about it. Any of it. You just want me to put on the facade of the perfect person. You want me to win so you have your model of a son. I'm sorry, father, but I'm sick and tired of crawling after approval you are never going to give. I'll do your modeling and all of the activities, it keeps the peace, but I'm tired, father. So tired. So why don't we just go on with our separate lives as you obviously want to. You haven't been to any of my tournaments or concerts in almost two years. Not since..." He had the intelligence to fade off and look down. After a moment, though, Adrien continued, despite his father's warning look.

"I finally have support again, and people that come to watch me, who cheer me on and don't __care__ if I win or lose. I'd much rather reserve seats for them, seeing as they'll actually make use of them. That is all. I'll continue to do what you want, but I don't want you to come unless you actually want to be there... and it's obvious you have other things you would prefer to do."

He didn't say it with any heat, which was unusual for Adrien, and Gabriel didn't really know how to respond to this. He could respond to anger. He could respond to defensiveness. But this... Adrien had stated it in a sort of resigned, exhausted voice that seemed to sap the very emotion out of the room. It was an impressive feat and effectively cut off any wind to Gabriel's sails. So they sat there in silence for several seconds until the younger Agreste spoke again.

"May I go, father?"

"Please inform Nathalie of the events. If you do not wish for me to be there, I will not. But I would like to be informed nonetheless," Gabriel finally heard himself say.

Adrien actually sighed as if his father had just asked him to carry the weight of the world. Such dramatics. He was so like his mother. "I will endeavor to remember, Father."

"Adrien..." he said in a warning voice. It wasn't difficult to see the loophole in that.

The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Gabriel wasn't sure if he should be annoyed or proud. "Very well," Adrien replied, voice still calm for the most part. "Whatever you wish. May I go?"

A charged silence descended over the room.

"Yes," Gabriel finally said.

"Thank you, Father," he said politely with a bow, turned and walked out of the room, leaving Gabriel to stare after him and wonder how things had gotten this far.

"Nathalie," he finally said after a little while, "was he serious?"

"I believe so, sir. I heard him speaking on his phone to his friends, and he said much the same thing."

"Oh."

He hadn't realized he'd skipped that many performances. He hadn't realized just how much time had passed already. He hadn't realized that Adrien... that his son would ever stop wanting Gabriel's approval and presence. Of course, he'd thought he'd have a whole family by this point (curse Ladybug and Chat Noir!), but still...

Gabriel would willingly admit that he didn't _want_ to do family activities and hadn't wanted to since her disappearance. It was too painful. As much as he loved and wanted to protect Adrien, seeing him was just a reminder of the absence in their life. It was easier to avoid interaction until he could remedy the situation – until he could bring her back.

But now... would Adrien want to be a part of the family? The thought had never crossed his mind before, but with how his son had just acted...

Like he'd given up.

Perhaps something needed to change after all.

But... what?

xXx

Adrien returned to his room, eyebrows creasing, his lips in a tight line. He was proud of himself for keeping his temper, but it had been a near thing. He just didn't get it. Why was his father suddenly pretending to care? What was he hoping to get out of this act? Obviously he didn't care to even show face at any of Adrien's activities before this, so no one would know anything had changed. So _why_?

The hands he'd managed to keep somewhat relaxed now clenched into tight fists, his nails digging into his skin, threatening to break through. "Can you believe him, Plagg?" he found himself asking. "He wants me to inform him. He wants to "know"." And then it struck him. "He wants his control. Despite the fact that he _never shows up_."

The little kwami floated into view, for once staying quiet and watching his chosen silently while Adrien continued. "He just wants to pretend – to play house. Does he want to get back to that picture perfect family we were when mom was here? No, he just wants people to think we're perfect. Is just having a face for the public that important to him? Oh, who am I kidding, of _course_ it is. He doesn't want to put in the time and effort for anything actually, you know, _real_. And isn't that how it's always been? We've never been perfect, even back then. Isn't that why she left? Abandoned me and dad? Because she _wasn't_ _happy_?"

Then he asked in a smaller voice. "Why couldn't she take me with her?"

He sat there despondently after that, just slumped onto his couch. That's how it had been lately. He couldn't ever seem to muster up his anger for long, because it was just too much. He hated the whole situation, and hating himself for being upset about it earlier. He'd already wasted enough time on this. He thought he'd come to terms with it, but his calm had been wrecked by the first stone thrown into the pond. The first time his father even pretended to show interest. Was Adrien's resolve that weak?

Did it even matter. All of his anger had slipped behind some sort of numb shield. All he felt lately about this was a sort of resignation that dragged him down – that wanted to drown him. He was losing his ability to care if it succeeded or not.

xXx

Plagg sat on his chosen's shoulder, trying to comfort the boy who owned his ring. It wasn't something he normally found himself doing but the broken look on Adrien's face shattered something inside the fairy. Unfortunately, he wasn't good at this. Tikki had always been better. What would she say now? Something about looking at the other side, perhaps?

"I'm sure he's trying to do his best," he finally said. And hey, it sounded like something she'd say. He mentally patted himself on the back. He really deserved more cheese for this.

"Yeah well, he should have tried doing that before," Adrien practically spat. "It's too little too late Plagg." He went over to his bed and threw himself onto it, sitting there quietly, trying to process what had just happened with his father. "He doesn't care. He's just trying to keep his schedule – trying to control me again. I'm not going to fall for it. I'm not going to hope. I... can't. Not anymore, Plagg."

The words, 'it hurts too much' went unspoken, but somehow echoed in the room anyway.

"You... sure you don't want some cheese, kid?" Because hey, that always made him feel better.

Adrien just sighed, but the look he shot Plagg still seemed more fondly exasperated than anything else. It was better than that wall of tiredness that always seemed to melt into numb from before, so the kwami decided that he'd take it as a win for now.

xXx

AN: So this is the reposting of a Round Robin fic (under the same name) in the Miraculous Challenges forum (which you can reach if you click the forum up at the top and look for it there). If you'd like to help with the fic, please come! We'd love to have you!

Special thanks to Texas-Variety Katie Bug and Cute Kirby for helping in the Round Robin and writing! And don't worry, the chapters will get longer as we go along (I'm really not used to such short chapters, LOL). Anyway, let us know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

Gabriel stared at the computer screen, unimpressed. Then he glanced up at the clock. He could only do this for another seven or so minutes, but he'd found almost __nothing__. He'd searched google for "including children" (that had come up with nothing but 'in wedding' results), "how to include children in a busy life" and then even just "I'm busy but I have children". Hardly anything promising and upon further inspection, he'd found nothing useful whatsoever. So he looked up one last thing out of a sort of desperation, trying to dumb it down so he'd get better answers. "How can I not be too busy for my son?" That should be layman enough.

The articles that popped up did indeed look marginally more promising. He went to click on one of them before something a little further down caught his eye. " _The Busy Trap_." Hmm. It was about America, but it still piqued his interest. So he opened the link to the article and read.

"Most people I know are busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they're addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence," Gabriel read aloud, incredulous. He wasn't addicted to business. He didn't dread...

Then he remembered what usually kept him up almost every night until he wanted to fall over in exhaustion. The thought of going back to that empty bed. Of braving this large, empty house that he'd gotten mainly for her. Of the thoughts of her, of missing her, of the nighmares about what had happened to her and what could still happen if he didn't _do_ something. Of facing the fact that she __wasn't there__ anymore.

And no one knew why.

Oh, he'd heard the rumors. That she'd left because he'd been too harsh or too strict or to escape from his controlling fingers. They didn't know her. They didn't know that it hadn't been like that at all. How could it have been when she'd been __happy__ just days before? When she'd smiled and laughed and teased him for the smallest things. When she still kissed him like his opinion mattered and would always matter whether he was the richest man in the world, or the poorest. Like it wasn't his actions that mattered, but simply _him_.

He'd been skeptical at first, but maybe this article wasn't a total loss.

He continued to read:

 _ _They feel anxious and guilty when they aren't either working or doing something to promote their work. They schedule in time with friends the way students with 4.0 G.P.A.'s make sure to sign up for community service because it looks good on their college applications.__

He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, thankful that no one was here to see it. He didn't think of his son as some sort of accomplishment that would just make him __look__ good. Although Adrien had accused him of doing so. But he genuinely cared for his son. The idea of losing him made Gabriel physically sick. That was part of why he wanted to protect him. Still, maybe – just maybe – he could see how Adrien may have come to that conclusion now that he thought about it. But he just wanted the boy to have more of a chance to make something of himself. Gabriel had had to fight tooth and nail, and he wanted to make sure Adrien didn't have to.

 _The designer frowned at the argument he couldn't seem to resolve and pushed it to the side to contemplate on later. Right now, he had an article to read._

 _ _Even children are busy now, scheduled down to the half-hour with classes and extracurricular activities. They come home at the end of the day as tired as grown-ups.__

He remembered the bags under Adrien's eyes. Well, this was getting more uncomfortable by the second.

He continued on, and although the rest of that part of the article didn't necessarily apply to him, it did have good points.

Then he got to the part on Anxiety. He was about to skip it when another sentence caught his eye.

 _ _Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets.__

Gabriel frowned as, yet again, he thought back to his son. Did Adrien have idle time. Of course he did... and yet. That wasn't the point of the issue anyway. He was obviously pulling away from his father... but was that part of it? That they didn't spend 'idle' time together? The notion of even attempting to do so made Gabriel feel distinctly uncomfortable for more reasons than one. And yet, wasn't that what this article was all about? What his problem was all about?

 _ _...I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose time over money, since I've always understood that the best investment of my limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. ...__

 _ _Life is too short to be busy.__

That pang in Gabriel's heart rang through him again. Whenever he was idle lately, he ended up in his secret room, desperately sending out corrupt butterflies. He'd... been doing that an awful lot lately, though. But he __had__ to. For __her.__

And yet, he couldn't help but wonder if, by choosing to devote his time to bring her back, he'd begun to give up his son as well as her.

Another thought ran through his mind from a play he'd seen with his wife once: __You may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have.__ _By trying to get them both back had he begun to lose them both?_

He frowned and glanced at the clock. Two minutes overdue. Blast. And yet...

He shut the window down, bookmarking it for later, and then went back to his inbox to continue with his e-mails. Before he got there, though, he glanced at his phone. Then, before he could change his mind, he picked up the phone and called Nathalie.

"Sir," she said when she picked up.

"Nathalie, when do I have an hour free in the next couple of days?"

A silence over the line while she checked. Then, "I'm just outside, sir. Would you prefer for me to come in so you can look at the calendar yourself?"

He wondered why she hadn't come in and assumed she'd simply been on her way back.

"Yes," he replied simply and hung up. A few seconds later she opened the door and strode confidently forward. Having already drawn up the schedule, she placed the tablet before him and he frowned. Nathalie voiced his thoughts.

"I'm afraid you're booked solid for the next few days, with the upcoming release of the new line. May I ask what you need scheduled?"

His first response was to tell her it was none of her business, but in all honesty, he knew that she would be able to make the best suggestions if she was in the know.

"I am looking for some... time to spend with Adrien."

No one else would have been able to see the shock on her face, but he knew her tells. He suppressed his own shame and dislike for the entire situation. He may as well have just admitted that he'd been wrong. He hated admitting he'd been wrong.

"I... see," she finally said, drawing the calendar to her and looking over it with a practiced eye. "The time you do have off interferes with Adrien's schedule, his classes, his Chinese, piano... _ _modeling.__ " She paused and lifted her head from her tablet and straightened her back. Somehow, that simple act turned her already impeccable posture into something intimidating. Gabriel raised an eyebrow slightly, half amused, half curious.

"If you want to spend time with him in the upcoming days I suggest you put," she gave a small cough, "other activities aside for the time being."

Again, he felt his expression harden. "What are you trying to say, Nathalie?" He folded his hands, looking at his secretary coldly. "Everything that I'm doing is for Adrien. All that I'm sacrificing is for him and if you can't see that-"

"What is his favorite color?"

He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, surprised by the sudden question. She never interrupted him. "Excuse me?"

"What is Adrien's favorite color?" Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, but closed it, realizing he didn't know the answer. What __was__ Adrien's favorite color? He went to answer again, but she cut him off again. "Or his best friend's name? What's his favorite subject in school? His favorite video game?"

He knew Adrien's supposed best friend, the kid with the red hat who wouldn't know high-class if it picked him up and carried him down the street. But no, he didn't remember his name. Why would he have to? (The answer that it was important to Adrien echoed in the back of his mind but he stubbornly refused to acknowledge it.) And his favorite subject was one of the sciences... right? Although Gabriel couldn't begin to fathom why.

The fashion designer frowned. He didn't know the answer to these simple questions... Did that mean anything? Did that really say anything about him as a father? Part of him wanted to dismiss it all, but part of him guiltily said, 'yes, it most certainly does mean something.'

"Sir," Nathalie had that blank look on her face, no hint of accusation in her monotone voice, but no comfort either. So like her. "Adrien doesn't need whatever you're trying to give him. At least not at this moment. Right now, he needs a father who is there for him. That's all he wants."

"How I raise my son is my own business." He said that in pure defense and they both knew it, but it was also a cue to let Nathalie know she was on thin ice.

All she had to do to call him on that was raise one of her eyebrows. "That's why I need those miraculous," he said, voice a little heated. Just enough to remind her who had the power here. "He needs a parent that can _be_ there for him. I know that. I just need to – to get the miraculous. With Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous I'll be able to make our family whole again."

"How long is that going to take?" she returned stonily, echoing his own thoughts from earlier. "You know very well sir that it could be years or even decades if you're successful at all. I suspect you already know that it could be too late by that point. It's almost too late now. If events continue in the vein they have, I have no doubt Adrien will be long gone the moment he becomes a legal adult and he'll never look back no matter who lives here. Leave behind some of your... recreational activities for a week or so. Stop being the villain Paris sees you as for that week and spend that time with your son. He'll appreciate it."

Gabriel felt his teeth clench. The idea of giving up Hawk Moth – of giving up the chance to get his wife back – even for a week caused a pit of ice to form in his stomach. And yet, what would she suggest he do? What would she _want_ him to do?

He repressed a sigh and glanced at the picture of his wife. He knew he was a difficult person to live with. He knew he had a hard time showing his emotions. It came after so many years of containing said emotions. It was why he only allowed such emotions out as Hawk Moth. If he let one out even a little, they tended to take over. So he kept them firmly under tight control.

She'd always known what to say to draw him out. She'd always been there to help him through it all. She'd been the one to encourage him... and he only wanted to give her everything in the world to show his gratitude and love and... he wanted give his son the same. He wanted to give his son a family – the family they both needed. If this is what his son wanted – needed – then perhaps he could sacrifice a bit of his time. Just for now.

"Alright, Nathalie," Gabriel gave the picture one last loving look before turning away, "you win. Relabel any free time that coincides with Adrien's. This week there will be no Hawkmoth."

xXx

Again, thanks to Texas-Variety Katie Bug and Cute Kirby! Anyone who wants to come and help with the story, 101 things to do with your son under the Miraculous Challenges forum. :)

Also, _The Busy Trap_ is an actual article written by Tim Kreider.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't uncommon for there to be no Akuma for a few days in a row, but rarely did Ladybug and Chat Noir have more than that off. By this point, Adrien more or less expected (and planned as best he could) to have about two akuma in a week. Sometimes when they were unlucky, three and in one particularly bad week, four. It had been approximately four days since the last attack. Honestly, Adrien was expecting an attack would pop up any minute. He had a bag full of Camembert stuffed into his pockets that he wouldn't let Plagg touch in case he needed to retransform, and he figured that would be enough. Well, he hoped it would be.

Other than that, he wasn't particularly worried about an akuma attack. For one, he knew he and Ladybug would take care of said akuma when it popped up. For another, he knew there was no use worrying about it if he couldn't do anything about it, so he shoved the thought from his mind. Although, he was looking forward to hanging with his friends tonight and really hoped that Hawk Moth didn't strike then. He probably would. Adrien wasn't lucky enough for it to be otherwise.

With a mental eye roll, he shoved that thought aside, reiterating to himself that he'd worry about an akuma when he got to it. For now, he just wanted to forget his busy life and have one of those relaxing afternoons. He just had to go home and see what his father wanted before he could escape back to Nino's.

"Hey, man!" Nino said, coming up behind him and throwing an arm around Adrien's shoulder, despite the blond being the taller of the two (if only by about three centimeters – Nino's words, not his). "We still on for tonight? You're bringing the game, right?"

It was a new one that they'd both been looking forward to the release of, and naturally, Adrien had pre-ordered it and gotten it in the mail the day before.

"You bet," he said with a grin. "I just have to go home and see what my dad wants first. Nathalie told me he has an hour booked when she went over my schedule with me this morning. Dunno what it's about." He felt his shoulders slump. He really, __really__ didn't want to be around his father. He was still just...so sick of it and didn't want to deal with it all right now. Or ever again.

"Ugh. Sucks to be you right now," Nino said, not unsympathetically.

"Yeah," Adrien replied dejectedly.

"Well, I'll ask the girls over too, then, so when you get there, we'll have more fun."

The model raised his eyebrow skeptically. "Are you sure they'd want to come?" he knew Marinette didn't hate him, and he considered her a good friend, but she was still always so uncomfortable around him (and he'd begun to blame that on his family name too. Of __course__ she'd be concerned when she wanted to be a fashion designer and one word from his father could make that dream infinitely more difficult).

To his surprise, Nino laughed. "Pretty sure, dude."

Adrien shrugged. "Alright, if you say so. I'll see you in an hour. Less if I have anything to say about it. Get as much homework done as possible so we have the evening to just hang, right?"

"I'll try. Been too excited for this to do much lately."

The blond laughed. "Alright, then. See you later, dude."

xXx

To Adrien's surprise, Nathalie showed him to a sitting room that he and his father rarely used when they got home. Adrien couldn't help but feel uneasy. If his father really wanted to lecture him, he'd have done so in his office.

"He will be with you shortly," his father's assistant said as she tapped something out on her ipad and then left.

"She didn't even let you get me some cheese," Plagg grumbled, poking his head out of Adrien's shirt. "You know, you could let me have that bag in your pocket..."

Adrien sighed. "No, Plagg. We need to make sure that there's enough if Hawk Moth sends an akuma. I'll get you some before we head over to Nino's tonight. If I'm lucky, we'll be able to get out of this in a few minutes and head over early."

Plagg sighed melodramatically. "Fine."

The teenager rolled his eyes, but couldn't keep a smile from his face.

They waited for a few more minutes in silence before he heard the door open and turned to see his father walk into the room.

"Adrien," he said tersely as he walked to the chair opposite of his son and sat down.

"Father," Adrien replied, trying not to sound too weary... or wary for that matter. "Is something wrong?"

To his surprise, his father sent him a slightly puzzled look. "Must there be something wrong for me to spend time with my son?"

 _ _Yes__. Adrien wanted to say it, but he couldn't, not without starting a confrontation and he was too tired for one of those today. Tired but simultaneously too excited for Nino's get together tonight to risk it all. So he didn't answer.

Gabriel seemed to get it though, because he sighed. "Well, I must say I can see where you could draw that conclusion."

The younger Ageste's brow furrowed slightly in a frown, but he still didn't speak. His father never admitted anything like that. Never admitted he'd given any information that could be misinterpreted.

They sat in that pregnant silence for a few more minutes before Gabriel spoke up again. "Adrien, I must admit, you were... right the other day."

Adrien's head whipped up so fast that he almost gave himself whiplash. "Pardonne moi?"

"I have been... busy lately. I didn't realize that I had missed so many of your events." No apology was forthcoming; probably not a bad thing at this point because Adrien wasn't sure his heart could take that kind of a shock. This admittance was... unheard of in and of itself. "I cannot promise that I will be able to attend every one in the future but I am going to try and make at least every other one."

The teenager stared in shock, his mouth hanging open just a little. "What?"

"Well, you are my son," Gabriel said with a shrug. As if it were a throw away fact. As if actually being there and being a caring parent was a given. As if that very statement wasn't at odds with everything his father had done for the last two years.

That's when Adrien felt his fists clench and the familiar, burning fury broke through the resignation. He very suddenly wasn't tired anymore. He wanted to yell at his father and ask him why it took __that__ for Adrien to finally get some acknowledgment. That he was doing too little too late and that he really needed to come down off of his high horse. Besides, sitting down like this did not make up for everything he'd already done, and somehow, Adrien knew he wasn't the only one that __still__ did not want to be here.

"Thank you, father," he managed to get out, hoping it didn't sound to derisive. "So why did you ask me here? Simply to tell me that?"

Gabriel must have sensed the strain because he frowned, but he didn't mention it as he spoke. "It has been a while since we spent any time together. I would like to know how you are doing in school."

Adrien's fists clenched tighter. Did his father expect him to suddenly open up and trust him? Just like that? Well, he had another thing coming. "You receive my grades, father," he managed to say calmly.

"I'd like to hear it from you."

A tense silence as Adrien tried to bring his temper under control. It would do no good to lose it here. __Nino's,__ he thought, __think of Nino's. And later tonight, I'll be with My Lady.__ That actually went a long way to calming him down. He relaxed his fists and put his hands on his knees.

"I am at the top of my class, father," despite the many tardies and absences he had. Most of them were excused, but he'd still had more than one teacher approach him about it.

Gabriel nodded. "Good. And..." he paused awkwardly, "how do you like school."

A couple of months ago, Adrien would have gushed about how much he loved making friends and how great his school was despite all of the people he still got asking for his autograph. Now he simply smiled his camera smile. "I enjoy it, father. Thank you for letting me continue to attend."

"You're welcome," his father answered with a nod. Then they both fell into awkward silence. Adrien checked his watch and wanted to sigh. 12 minutes down, 48 to go.

xXx

Gabriel actually allowed himself to slump in his chair. That had been probably the most painful hour he'd ever spent with anyone. He'd even allowed Adrien to leave a little early when the boy had asked simply because otherwise they would have continued to sit there in the most awkward silence imaginable. The worst thing was that he... had no idea how to fix it. He'd thought that just spending time and talking would begin to mend the chasm between them, but if anything, it had made the whole situation worse.

It had become painfully obvious that Adrien didn't __want__ to tell him anything anymore – didn't trust him enough to do so. Gabriel had initially thought that the boy was simply acting out of anger or frustration, not that he'd actually __given up.__ And that hurt more than he could have realized before.

So now he had two options; either he could wash his hands of it all, allowing them both to stop this painful, forced interaction that neither one was good at and neither particularly wanted, or he could keep trying.

At this point, he wasn't sure which option scared him more. Not that either one scared him. What did he have to be afraid of?

Except losing Adrien.

The thought almost took his breath away. He couldn't lose his son. He _couldn't._ But trying to reconnect... heck, even admitting to him that there was a disconnect to begin with would be far more difficult and time consuming than Gabriel had initially thought. Perhaps a week wouldn't be enough. But he couldn't put off his plans as Hawk Moth for more than a week... could he?

No. Adrien was worth more than almost anything, but not that. His importance was about on par with getting her back though...

This did not bode well for his schedule or his sleep in the near future.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, hoping to prevent the headache that he could feel coming. Then he glanced at his computer, contemplating it for a few moments before glancing up at the clock. He had a few minutes.

Reaching over, he pulled up a search engine and wrote, 'things to do with your teenage son'. To his surprise, several sites that looked promising appeared. At the top, though, a link that said "101 things to do with your son (besides play video games)". Gabriel blinked at it. Besides play video games. Did parents play video games with their children? Wasn't that something children did just to waste time?

Shaking the thought from his head, he moved onto the list:

Play Basketball  
Ride Bikes  
Build a Fort in the Living Room  
Make your own Ice Cream  
Create a Scavanger Hunt  
Plant a Garden  
Bowling  
Hike through the Woods  
Bake Brownies  
Hang Decorations (seasonal)  
Apple Picking  
Cosplay  
Swimming at a Local Pool  
Library Visit  
Head to a Pizza Shop  
Roller Skating  
Make your Own Music Video  
Holiday Toy Shop Browsing  
Build a LEGO Tower  
Make an Apple Pie  
Make a Collage with pictures of their fave things  
Re-decorate their bedrooms  
Races around the house  
Waterslide Park  
Rake Leaves into a pile for jumping  
UNO  
Snowball fight (seasonal)  
Style a mohawk in their hair  
Laser Tag  
Puzzles!  
Read a book together on the couch  
Watch your FAVE movie as a child (Mine would be Goonies!)  
Put on some music and DANCE  
Make a card for someone special with each other (grandma, grandpa, dad, etc)  
Twister  
Draw with chalk in the driveway  
Freeze Tag  
Take our Light Sabers and have some battles  
Batting Cage  
Mini-golf  
Arcade at the mall – Old school like you used to do!  
Merry-Go-Round  
Head to the movies  
Shopping Trip to buy Athletic Gear  
Ice Skating  
Make milkshakes together  
Amusement Park for the Day!  
Haunted House  
Hayride  
Paint a picture together  
Go-carts!  
Head to a local playground  
Run/Jog around the block (depending on age)  
Card Games – War, Go Fish, etc.  
Watch a Football (or other sport) Game (and let them explain the game to you)  
Fishing  
Hide-and-Go-Seek  
Playdate with his best friend and his mother  
Camping  
Ice Hockey Game  
Kayaking  
Corn Maze  
Grab 2 cameras and go out and take some photographs (they could be disposable ones, too!)  
Day trip to your local City  
Head to the ZOO  
Roast marshmallows  
If it rained, JUMP in puddles together (shock your son!)  
Play soccer (football) together  
Saturday morning breakfast date – just the 2 of you!  
Head to a local kids' museum  
Color together  
Build-A-Bear Workshop stop  
Sledding (seasonal)  
Create a Fish Tank together  
Head to a Baseball Game together (minor or major)  
Sleepover in the living room with sleeping bags  
Halloween costume shopping or designing!  
Board Games!  
Playing catch in the backyard  
Go to church together  
Visit a local Audubon Society  
Do a science experiment  
Go to a WWE Wrestling match (you do what you gotta do!)  
Create a blog together (my sons are itching to do this!)  
Shop together for new clothes and let him pick the stuff out  
Volunteer together  
Po-Go Stick JumpingMake bubbles!  
NERF football  
Madlibs!  
Water gun fight  
Slinky down the stairs – always a good time!  
Look through your yard for bugs and insects  
Play-Doh!  
Learn magic tricks  
Plan a picnic  
Head to the beach and collect shells and jump waves!  
Haircut time!  
Visit his grandparents  
Build a sandcastle!  
Drive somewhere, just to grab some time in the car to chat – just the 2 of you

Gabriel stared at the list for several seconds. Just what kind of people actually __did__ things like that?! 'Undignified' would be a kind way of describing most, if not all, of those! And that was being gracious to those that weren't far under Adrien's age level. Honestly, visiting a playground? Have them explain a game to you? Sure, he could attempt to do that, if he wanted to completely and utterly undermine any hope of reaching his son – because he was sure doing activities that screamed 'you're a child and too young to take care of yourself' would knock the last legs of their crumbling relationship right out from under them.

It also came down to the fact that he couldn't be seen doing things like that! He would be made a laughing stock! The fashion industry would thumb their nose at him. He would be out of a job in less than a month!

He took a deep breath. Perhaps that was overreacting a little. His wife had often told him he tended to overreact. He sighed and ignored the pang of pain that shot through his heart at the thought of her.

No, he couldn't do this. People didn't really do this.

And yet, long ago, he could remember doing some things with his parents. Not often, they had been busy as well, but he remembered hot cocoa on a cold day and blankets and just sitting together. He doubted that would work with Adrien (their silences were far too painful for that right now) but still.

Well, he was just getting ideas on how to spend some time with his son. However, this list was most unhelpful. He almost clicked on the 'x' in the corner, ready to go back to work when he spotted the portrait of his wife. The lovely colors, almost all in golds and yellows that so matched her personality, were nothing short of an inspiration to him, even at the worst of times. Then he glanced at the list again. Then at the portrait. She would have loved this list.

Gabriel stifled a groan. This might be more painful than either he or Adrien could possibly imagine.

xXx

In the end, he narrowed the 101 things down to about 65 and then spent the rest of the evening trying not to bang his head on the desk (it would show a lack of control he was not willing to entertain).

There were still far too many that he wouldn't normally approve of, but as the person who wrote the article said, you have to do what you have to do.

And Gabriel was determined to do it.

xXx

AN: Again, I'm not the only one who wrote this! Would still love to have some round-robin help on the Miraculous Challenges forum (and there are a bunch of other challenges there for people who are looking for ideas to write about).

Thanks again to Texas-Variety Katie Bug and Cute Kirby!


	4. Chapter 4

Adrien almost groaned when Nathalie informed him that he'd be spending another hour with his father that afternoon once he got home from fencing. Honestly, it put a damper on his whole day. Still, once he walked in the door, he sighed (for about the millionth time) and went to meet his father.

"Where will we meet today?" Adrien asked Nathalie, who never took her eyes off of the ipad in her hands.

"In the gym," she replied.

Adrien froze. "What?" he asked.

"He wants to play you in basketball," Nathalie responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world and not _Earth shattering_.

Adrien wanted to know when he'd wandered into the Twilight Zone.

xXx

Adrien wasn't sure exactly what he should expect when he walked into the gym. Whatever it was, it wasn't... __this__. For several seconds, he could only stare in shock as he took in his father carefully studying the rack holding all of the basket balls. His father, who usually wore the most pressed, high-end suits with sharp lines that screamed 'don't mess with this businessman'. Adrien couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his father dress in anything but. So perhaps it was no surprise that he only barely kept his jaw from dropping when he saw the man dressed in a well-fit jersey and shorts that came down to his knees. They were, of course, all color coordinated with his wrist bands and head bands and designer shoes and socks (he looked like he'd designed the clothes for a new, professional team), but still... He wasn't sure whether to laugh at the sight or try and banish it to the depths of his mind, never to see the light of day again.

"Adrien," Gabriel said as his son dropped the bag he'd been carrying and strode forward in a sort of daze.

"F-father," he struggled to reply and was proud of himself for getting that out at all.

Naturally, his father frowned. "Are you feeling well?" Gabriel asked.

That brought up Adrien's walls about as quickly as he'd registerd them. Yeah, he stutters at a strange sight and his father has to make note of it and belittle him. Typical.

"I'm fine, father," he said smoothly, even managing the nonchalant note in there.

"Very well, then. I know you usually play with a team, but today you can practice with me. Please go easy on me as it has been years since I last played." He looked Adrien up and down. "Would you like to change first?"

Right about then, it hit Adrien that this was a chance to show up his father, to beat him and prove his worthiness. Maybe even surpass it. He could also stick it to the man by playing in his designer clothes and getting them sweaty.

"Nah, I'm fine," he said with a rather hungry smile as he rushed over to the other side of the court. "Would you like to warm up, father?" He usually started basket ball practice with a bit of a jog.

"If you would like," Gabriel nodded. Adrien stretched a bit before setting off for a couple of laps. His father, surprisingly, joined him. He'd never seen his father stretch before. It was another one to add to the list of 'banish' or 'treasure' that he couldn't quite decide between. They ran in silence around the gym, but it wasn't nearly as heavy as their meeting yesterday... most likely because Adrien had something to look forward to now.

After about ten minutes, Adrien stopped, stretched a little again and grabbed a ball, graciously handing it to his father. "You did ask me to go easy on you, so your ball," he said with a smile that may or may not have graduated from hungry to 'slightly predatory'.

Gabriel simply raised an eyebrow and took the ball. The smile he returned had a bit of a challenge of his own. He stood behind the line of the court and bounced it in to Adrien. "Check."

Grinning, Adrien bounced it back.

And then, in a flash, Gabriel took off.

Honestly, Adrien didn't think anyone his father's age could move that fast without wielding a miraculous. Heck, some of his teammates would have had issues keeping up.

Then again, none of his teammates were secret super heroes that tended to have cat-like reflexes. His father had speed. Adrien had quickness and a calculating mind. He was able to get in front of the man, who tried to pivot around him. If Adrien hadn't noted the muscle movements and seen it coming, the first point may very well have gone to his father. However, he was able to get a hand up just enough to touch the ball and throw the trajectory off. It hit the rim and bounced off in the other direction. Adrien and Gabriel had both already shot off towards it.

To Adrien's annoyance, his father reached it first and snatched it out of the air and the game continued.

It took them both a while to realize that they were fairly evenly matched and at an impasse. Gabriel's speed and height (and man, could his father __jump__ , he could swear the guy had wings or lighter bones or something) against Adrien's reflexes, strength and experience. It was rare to have a basketball game of any kind without one side or the other making a basket, and yet, seven minutes later, Adrien was still blocking and going on the defensive. He simply couldn't get a hold of that ball. And his father was __accurate__ too. He could tell that he would __have__ to knock the shots off if he didn't want his father to score, which stopped him from being in a position where he could get to the rebound first.

Honestly, his father could have had a chance at professional ball if he played this well at his age. Perhaps he'd missed his calling.

And then, Adrien saw it. He had a chance and he went for it, slapping the ball out of his father's hand, and then dancing around him to catch said ball, turn and make a mad dribble for the other side of the court. His father had a slight speed advantage (although how he could out-run even a detransformed Chat Noir, Adrien didn't know) and didn't have to dribble the ball, so he got there first, but Adrien was ready. He went to shoot, and his father jumped to block, reaching higher than the teenager could have imagined, but he still couldn't help his Cheshire grin because that was exactly what he wanted his father to do. Adrien's own jump had been a feint, merely straightening his legs with his hand up to shoot. As soon as his father left the ground, Adrien pivoted around him and shot while his father was still reaching the peak of his jump. The older Agreste saw his mistake and tried to correct it, sweeping a hand down towards Adrien awkwardly, but the ball was already in the air by the time he was able to. They both watched in anticipation as it soared through the air, hit the backboard and went in.

For a moment they both just stared, and then Adrien jumped into the air. He couldn't help but yell in victory.

"Well done, son," Gabriel said, although he'd returned to his stone face... and he didn't look incredibly pleased. A couple of months ago, that would have dragged Adrien's spirit down. Now, he just took it as the victory it was and his grin widened. If he'd had his tail, it would have been whipping around in excitement, and his cat ears would be twitching.

"Thank you, Father," Adrien returned, unable to fully suppress his cat-like grin. "Your ball."

"Naturally," Gabriel replied. "Check."

To Adrien's dismay, Gabriel managed to get the next two baskets, but then Adrien made one after that. By that point, both were sweating and neither noticed Natalie standing in the doorway with an open jaw. They also didn't notice her hold up her ipad in a sort of daze to start recording them.

When Adrien made the next shot, he let out a loud whoop and Nathalie carefully closed down the recording app before clearing her throat.

They both turned to her.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I am here to remind you of your 6:00 appointment, sir. If you wish to prepare for it, I suggest you do so now."

For a moment, Adrien could swear he heard his father's teeth grind, but then he stood straight, put his hands behind his back and turned to his son. "I found that rather enjoyable."

To his surprise, Adrien realized he had too, in a very 'must win', competitive kind of way. If this was the way he and his father would play basketball, he wasn't sure he would have the energy to do so every single day.

"I as well, father," he replied in a similarly toneless voice. "But perhaps we should find something less... straining to do tomorrow."

"Indeed," his father agreed, turned and walked towards the door.

"Don't forget to stretch," Adrien called after him, trying his best to keep any mockery out of his voice.

Gabriel paused at the door before nodding over his shoulder to Adrien. "Very well. And congratulations on your... win." Adrien could swear that last word had to be pried out of his father's mouth, but he was too busy gaping at his father to really respond. His father __never__ said things like that because it would acknowledged defeat...

Adrien almost hated himself for the proud, hopeful smile that crossed his face.

Then his father left and the teen could only stand there, wondering just who was really winning in all of this.

xXx

Needless to say, Adrien was a little preoccupied when he went to Nino's that evening (with the Gorilla waiting out side the entire time, of course – Adrien felt kind of bad for him, like he always did). As the night wore on, though, he ended up relaxing more and more around his friends until he almost felt normal.

Then Nino asked a question Adrien had been avoiding.

"So, dude, did you ask your dad about this weekend yet?"

Adrien winced a little and he stiffened right back up. "Um... no."

Nino frowned. "Dude, you know you have to. If you spring it on him that day, he won't let you come, even if you can make time in the schedule."

"Why would he have a problem?" Alya piped up. "It's just a convention. And you're going dressed up anyways, so no one should recognize you if he's worried about the paparazzi. And I know for a fact that Marinette has your costume finished, right Marinette?"

The black-haired girl eeped for a moment as all attention turned to her, but then she nodded. "Y-yeah. I might final a need fitting. Need a final fitting!"

Adrien managed a smile at that. She was just so cute sometimes. Then he blinked.

"You're done with my Ladybug costume already?"

Her red cheeks darkened. "Y-yes."

"She's had months to plan and prepare for this," Alya said with a grin as she elbowed her friend gently in the ribs. "She even made me my Akuma costume."

Adrien frowned, as he usually did when this subject came up. "Why do you want to go dressed up like your Akuma again?"

Alya's gaze somehow sharpened. "To show Hawk Moth that he didn't get to me. I want to stick my defiance in his face! Besides, who better to go as than me? We'll win the contest for sure!"

"Well, I'll be cheering you guys on," Nino said with a smile. He hadn't wanted to join his friends on stage. When Alya initially brought up the idea of dressing up like Ladybug and Chat Noir and an Akuma, Adrien had been ecstatic, and volunteered to be Ladybug immediately. It had taken him a while to convince the others a crossplay would be fine.

Which had probably been why they'd been so shocked when he'd told them earlier that week that he hadn't asked his father yet.

"Back to the topic," Nino said, turning to Adrien. "You gotta ask your dad! Like, tomorrow."

"I know, I know. It's just... the con's two days before his new line debuts. He's going to be up to his neck in meetings and I'm going to be up to my neck in fittings and lighting tests and makeup tests and... yeah. I'm just... not looking forward to asking him."

In all honesty, he'd seriously considered _not_ asking at all and just slipping away as Chat Noir at some point and then detransforming somewhere, calling his friends, dressing up in his costume and going around the convention for at least a few hours before sneaking back. Sure, he'd get some flack for it, but he'd never been to a convention before, and this was a _super hero_ convention. He had half a mind to show up as Chat Noir and maybe even get Ladybug to come herself. But then, Marinette had worked so hard on his costume, he couldn't let her and Alya down like that.

"Well, we need to know if we have to wait for you or not," Alya said, not unsympathetically. "I mean, it's not like we mind, but we need to make a plan, you know?"

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, I know. Look, I have to spend more time with him tomorrow, so I'll ask him then, alright?"

"Right, dude," Nino said, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Adrien said, hoping he didn't look too worried. He'd need all the good luck he could get.

xXx

Thanks again to Texas-Variety Katie Bug and Cute Kirby for helping to write, and a new writer, Lecordonbleu28. Appreciate all you guys do!


	5. Chapter 5

A sort of antsy anticipation had fallen over Paris. It had been five days since the last Akuma attack and everyone seemed to be holding a collective breath. Adrien himself had met up with Ladybug only to confirm that she, too, felt uneasy at the break.

"Maybe even Hawk Moth has to take a vacation?" Chat Noir commented uneasily. "Or maybe it was a family emergency or..." A grin spread over his lips. "Or maybe it's just him admitting defeat and acknowledging our awesomeness."

That managed to get a small smile out of his partner. "I wish."

He joined her where she sat on the edge of the Eiffel Tower, looking out at Paris.

"Don't you hate this sometimes, Chat?"

He blinked, startled. "Hate what?"

She sighed. "This. We're stuck here reacting to him, letting him call the shots. We've both looked for him, but in a city this size, it's like finding a needle in a haystack." And apparently even Ladybug wasn't _that_ lucky to just stumble across him.

"I'll admit it is _fur-_ rustrating," he replied. She didn't react to his pun at all... which was actually a bad sign.

"We have to find a way to keep Paris safe," she practically whispered. "We have to find him."

"Well, I'm open to ideas," Chat said as jovially as he could.

Then he frowned as she seemed to deflate a little. "Yeah. Me too."

He scooted closer to her, and very carefully, put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll find him, My Lady."

Part of him expected her to push him away, like she normally did. However, this... this was different, and he hoped she could see that.

Apparently she could, because instead, she leaned her head on his shoulder. He couldn't help the pleased grin that spread across his face as they sat there, watching over their city. They stayed there for a long time.

xXx

Their third day, Gabriel decided to do something particularly special, and also decided to... surprise his son. It was an idea he'd found after he'd reread 'The Busy Trap.' Scheduling was good, but shouldn't eliminate spontaneity. At least, that's what Nathalie had pointed out after he'd sent the article to her as well.

It went against everything he'd built his life around, but he'd also seen the truth in the article himself. Besides, his wife had been particularly spontaneous at times. So, at the allotted hour, he decided to deliver the news himself.

Walking up to Adrien's room, he knocked on the door, only to hear a grunt in response. Gabriel slowly opened the door only to see his son dramatically slung over his couch, looking like the world despised him. The amount of drama in that simple pose... There was no denying they were father and son. Not that Adrien had to know that.

Part of him wanted to berate Adrien for his dramatics, but the rest of him realized that saying something would be counterproductive (and maybe a touch hypocritical), so he asked his question instead. "Adrien, what are you doing this afternoon?"

Adrien looked up, confusion and a hint of disdain, masked by a fake smile on his face. Gabriel wasn't sure whether their basketball game last night had done any good or just made things worse.

"Homework?" the younger Agreste said as he held up the book that had been on his lap.

The older man walked over to the couch. He stood there awkwardly for several moments before he walked around and sat primly next to his son.

"Adrien," he said, then cleared his throat. "I'm trying. I know this isn't easy for either of us and I know that it's... mostly my fault." Ugh, that had not been easy to admit, especially aloud. "I don't plan on stopping this. I am going to continue trying, even if our relationship does get better... and especially if it doesn't."

The skeptical disbelief only barely visible from his son hurt more than he was willing to admit. He continued anyway. "I will endeavor to be a better father. I freed up a few of my," what was the right word to say? He couldn't really say 'villainous activities', now could he?. "I have freed up some more of my schedule this week so you and I can spend time together. Without planning." Well, for the most part.

And there was the shock. Then the confusion. Then the suspicion again.

"You've freed up time this week? That's nice, father. I'm sure it was difficult and I appreciate the effort. But it will take more than a week to fix this. I'm not sure it can be fixed." _I don't want to try,_ echoed after his words, almost as loud as the tones themselves. "You can't take someone to the very edge, push them over and then expect them to be better after a week in the hospital."

Gabriel wanted to retort, to point out how disrespectful Adrien was being. It took every ounce of will to not do so. It bothered him that Adrien wasn't simply acquiescing. This would be so much easier if the boy would just cooperate. But it was also the most open Adrien had been towards him in a while.

Which, sadly, said quite a bit.

"It will... take a while to get a new long-term schedule running, but I will have Nathalie work on it immediately."

Adrien's brow furrowed as he scrutinized his father. The suspicion was still there, but so was something else, something Gabriel couldn't read. Something he hoped would be positive.

xXx

To say that Adrien felt shocked at his father's visit (unusual in and of itself) would be an understatement. He also hated that little spark of hope. Hope meant he could get hurt again.

"I appreciate your efforts, father," he managed to say. It was the best he could do right now because he just didn't dare believe.

Gabriel nodded, then stood. "Tonight we will attend the local football game."

"What?" Adrien asked, sitting up straight and staring in shock again. That was the second time his father had gotten to him that night. Blast it. He needed to _stop feeling anything_ towards this man. Well, he wished he could. That would solve _so many_ problems.

The fact that he was on edge from the lack of akumas didn't help. He couldn't go to something like that. What if Hawk Moth attacked? He couldn't leave Ladybug to fend for herself, and attempting to free himself from his father without saying the words "I am Chat Noir" would be next to impossible.

"Um, I appreciate the offer, father, but I don't think I will be able to. We have this test coming up and I'm kind of the on call tutor for physics." He tended to reach for any excuse he could latch onto these days, but at least this one didn't seem as terrible as his usually did. That helped him to gain confidence as he continued to deliver it. "So I need to be ready to help the others at any time."

Gabriel's eyebrows drew towards each other. "I didn't hear of this."

Well fudge. Just after they'd discussed Adrien keeping his father in the loop. "It was a last-minute thing today," he said with a shrug. "I figured if I needed to go out, I'd tell you."

"Hmm," his father said, voice thick with disapproval. "I'm glad you're doing well enough to be the class tutor, but I don't like the idea of you leaving at night."

"Oh. Well, it wouldn't have been difficult to set up a video chat if I couldn't leave."

One of his better excuses, perhaps... but that probably said more about his other reasons than this one. And had his father just... slipped in a compliment? No, he must have heard wrong. His father didn't give compliments.

"I see. Well, if you need to return early then you may, but for now you and I are going to tonight's football game. I purchased some adequate tickets, considering the short notice. Also, you can bring a friend if you can find one who doesn't have previous obligations. What about that friend of yours? Mr. Lahiffe." Because he'd looked it up after Nathalie had asked him. He'd just been thinking that they would be spending a lot of time sitting next to each other at the game, and he'd wanted to avoid the awkwardness that had happened that first afternoon. On that thought, it had just come to him while buying the tickets. Gabriel had purchased said tickets himself and had, on a whim, purchased three. He knew Adrien valued his friends, and figured that attempting to get to know his son's classmates would help to build trust. He also knew that he'd probably need to meet and interact with Adrien's friends at some point. In this instance, he could control it.

"Afterwords, if you would like, we can pick up some dinner. I'll... even allow you to put a hold on your diet for tonight. I have heard that boys your age like American food. Burgers? Perhaps not ice cream though..."

It took Adrien a minute to pick his jaw up off of the floor, and when he answered he did so mostly out of shock, but he ended up nodding. "Um, alright. I'll call Nino. What time is the game?"

"20:00, so you two should have plenty of time to schedule things." The clock currently read 16:18. That meant Adrien had time to get homework done. And then he'd go to a football game. And get burgers (although, he'd prefer a pizza, to be honest). If Gabriel hadn't been Akumatized before, Adrien would have been checking for the signs. Or maybe he was being affected by an Akuma? He made a mental note to check the Ladyblog for any updates on strange behaviors. Because Gabriel Agreste was volunteering to attend a game and eating horribly afterward.

"I will expect you to be ready by 19:00," Gabriel said before he turned to leave, but before he could, Adrien called out.

"Father."

Gabriel paused and looked over at his son. "Yes, Adrien?"

"Um, my friends and I have been kind of planning to go to a convention for a few months. I... didn't realize it would fall on this weekend. May I go?" He refused to fidget nervously and kept his hands stady.

The older man frowned. "Adrien, I don't like the idea of you going into a crowd that large."

"I'd be willing to pay for the Gorilla to come with from my own allowance."

Gabriel hesitated and then said the line Adrien had been dreading.

"That is two days before the release of the new line."

The younger Agreste nodded. "I know, but I have most of my fittings already, and most of the makeup tests are going to be in the afternoon or late evening..."

"I'm... still not comfortable with this," Gabriel replied.

Adrien felt his expression fall, but could anyone really blame him? He'd already been expecting that answer. He couldn't help but try just once more, though.

"Please, father."

An expression Adrien couldn't read crossed his father's face for a moment. A week ago, he was sure his father would have simply walked out. He couldn't believe he'd dared hope for something different this week.

And then his father spoke.

"If you miss one fitting or test, you will be grounded until you graduate from Lyceé."

Adrien just blinked for a moment before turning his head slowly to stare up at his father, incredulous.

"And if you lose the Gorilla _once_ , you can guarantee it will not happen again. Also, if you get hurt or almost hurt then any future visits will be out of the question.

The young model felt his face pale, as if he'd seen a ghost. He wasn't sure if he hadn't. Could this really be his father speaking?

"F-father. Thank you."

"You may have Saturday Morning to do as you please."

"Thank you!" he said again, unable to hide his smile as his father walked out of the room, leaving a stunned but happy Adrien and an equally surprised Plagg behind him.

"Well, that was unexpected," the kwami said as he floated into the open, still staring at the door. At first, Adrien nodded in agreement. Then he dove for his computer and looked for any alerts on the Ladyblog.

Nothing.

He decided to leave a comment about his father acting strangely anyway.

Then he leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. "You're telling me," he finally said in response to Plagg's comment. "I mean, a football game? My father hates watching sports."

"After yesterday, I'm not sure I believe that. Don't you humans call doing stuff like this a 'guy's night out' or something? Isn't is supposed to be fun? Although I don't get how without any cheese involved."

"Fun. Right." Adrien supposed he could sound more wary of what was coming, but not much. Then, sighing, he picked up his phone and pressed Nino's speed dial, letting the phone ring until the boy answered.

"Yo, Adrien! What's up bro? Did you ask about this weekend? Is your dad still being weird?"

"You have no idea." Adrien wanted to groan, most of his elation from getting permission to go to the convention having gone with the realization that he didn't know how to handle his dad like this. He couldn't stop the smile that came at the thought though.

"And yes, I asked him about this weekend. He said that I could go as long as the Gorilla goes with me!"

"Well, that's when the costume contest is, so that's great!" Nino replied excitedly. Then Adrien heard him turn away from the phone. "He can come!"

An excited yes from the background that had to be Alya.

"Well, dude, just wait. This is gonna be epic! You're gonna love the con! Maybe you're dad isn't so bad after all... or he's started to realize what kind of a jerk he was."

"Um, yeah, about that... he's done something else that I find rather strange."

"Uh, oh. What is it this time, bro?"

Adrien hoped he didn't sound quite as confused as he felt. "He bought football tickets. Then he told me to invite you. So... um, do you want to come?"

Silence. Then, "He what?!" Nino practically yelled. "Just a sec."

"Um okay," Adrien said, frowning at the phone.

"Alright, back," Nino said a few seconds later.

"What was that?" The blond asked.

"I was just checking for the flying pigs."

Adrien couldn't help his snort and covered his nose with his hand, glancing at the door as if he expected his father to just waltz in and berate him. Old habits die hard.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either."

Nino chuckled. Then he sobered and sighed. "I wish I could go, man, but I have plans with Alya this evening."

"Oh," Adrien felt his heart sink and a nervousness inside his stomach build with the idea of going to a football match alone with his father. "Okay then. Sorry to interrupt. See you tomorrow."

He went to hang up, but heard Nino's "Wait!"

"What?" the blond asked, his heart rising and a desperate hope spiking. "Why don't you ask Marinette? I'm sure she'd love to go with you."

Adrien blinked. "Marinette?" he asked. "Does she even like sports?"

"Uh, I don't- OW! Alya!" Nino let out a breath. Then he huffed, but when he spoke again, it was just as bright as ever. "Yeah, she loves them. You should __totally__ ask her to go with you and your dad."

The blond sat there, thinking about it for a few seconds. Marinette, whom he did consider a good friend, who seemed to vacillate between hating him and liking him,who would probably very much enjoy meeting and talking to his father and could potentially get his father's attention off of him in a very good way.

Adrien opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Nino. "Listen, I gotta go. Callhernowlaterdudebye!"

The phone went dead and Adrien stared in surprise at it for several seconds (Nino didn't hang up on him like that often) before he shrugged, pulling up Marinette's contact that he'd gotten from Nino a month or so previous when he realized he didn't have it.

The kind girl from class, his father, and himself. An interesting combination to say the least.

xXx

Marinette had finished her costumes for the convention and so, she'd decided to work on a hat that would make the perfect accessory to one of her new outfits. She smiled at it as she cut the final threads and held it up to examine. It looked very nice, a lovely shade of pink and red plaid that she'd immediately fallen for but not really known what to do with until inspiration struck the night before. Now she just needed to... oh, there was a part right there where the fabric didn't align correctly. Hmm.

"Tikki, what do you think?" she asked, turning in her seat and showing her Kwami.

"I think it looks great, Marinette!" Tikki said, flying up to her and looking over the hat.

"But there's this part right here that doesn't quite match," she said unsurely.

Tikki sighed. "Marinette, you'd have to unpick the whole seam, and probably the one next to it to fix it."

"It would only take another fifteen or so minutes."

Shaking her head, the little fairy flew up to her holder's face and put her hands on her cheeks. "Marinette, repeat after me: I do not have to be perfect all the time."

The dark-haired girl blinked. "Um...what? I can't afford to __not__ be perfect! Not as Ladybug and not if I want to make it in the fashion industry! I can't-"

"Marinette," Tikki interrupted, looking directly into her chosen's eyes. "By worrying about making every little thing perfect, people usually make things so much harder on themselves instead and are prone to more mistakes. I know you work well under pressure, but the kind of pressure you put on yourself worries me sometimes. I don't want you to burn out."

The teenager blinked. Then she smiled reassuringly. "I won't, Tikki. But one little seam fix isn't going to be a big problem in the long run."

Tikki sighed. "I think that's why you have a hard time talking to Adrien." Marinette stiffened, but didn't say anything so Tikki continued. "You worry so much about trying to sound perfect and act perfect that you feel the pressure and get flustered." Marinette still didn't say anything, so Tikki decided that she'd let the subject drop. "Just, think about it, okay?"

"Okay," her soft voice came back.

"Thank you, M-"

Tikki was cut off by the ringing of a phone. The kwami saw who it was and almost had to smirk. Well, speak of the devil.

"Oh my gosh, it's Adrien! What do I do, Tikki?"

"Well, if you don't answer him, he might think you don't want to talk to him," Tikki said, voice brimming with amusement.

Marinette's eyes widened and she dove for the phone, fingers scrambling to pick it up.

"H-hello?" she said, a little breathlessly. Her knees felt shaky. She was sitting down and they still felt shaky. What?

"Hi, Marinette," came the pleasant... no, lovely voice of her crush.

"H-hi A-A-Adrien," she managed to squeak out. "Up whats? Um, I-I mean, what's up?"

"Sorry to call you like this. Nino gave me your phone number. I hope that's okay."

She blinked. Had he not had her number? Oh, right. She had his because... well... maybe now wasn't the best time to think of that. What did it mean that he'd gone out of his way to get her information, though? Yes, that was a much better topic for her train of thought.

"Fine that's. That's your... You're fine. No! I mean, I mean that's fine! Just fine. I don't mind. At all. You know." Maybe she needed to just shut up now.

"Oh, good," Adrien replied, sounding genuinely relieved. "Well, I'm calling because... well, it's kind of silly, but my dad's being... well, he got these tickets for a local football game. I heard you liked football."

"Football, with no hands and they ball the kick... I mean kick the ball into the goal and don't use hands." Wait hadn't she already said that? Fudge. Recover... now. "I love it!" She didn't actually care all that much, but Adrien didn't need to know that.

"Great! Would you be willing to come with me and my dad?"

That finally got through to her and she had to blink. "Your dad likes football?"

Adrien sighed. "No, I don't think he does. He... I... it's a long story. This outing tonight probably won't be that pleasant. I wouldn't be able to consider myself your friend without warning you about that at least."

Marinette frowned. That... didn't sound good.

"What I'm saying is that I'd understand if you didn't want to come."

"I do!" she blurted out.

Adrien paused as if shocked and Marinette mentally berated herself for that outburst. She really needed to be more calm and collected and __coherent__ around this boy! Maybe Tikki had a point about the perfection thing? She pushed that to the side for later contemplation.

"Really?" Adrien finally asked.

"Yeah," Marinette replied.

"You must __really__ love football."

 _ _Not as much as I love you,__ she thought dreamily. "Um... yeah. But I-I don't want you to awkward feel - feel awkward – tonight if I can help it. I mean, we're f-f-friends, right?"

Another pause, but this one felt warmer.

"Thanks, Marinette," he said, tone relieved. "I don't think you realize how much I appreciate it. A couple of days ago, my dad tried to get me to talk to him and it... well, it didn't go over too well. Things might be getting better," why did he sound so unsure about that? "But still, I don't want to push it or jinx it," Adrien muttered that last part and Marinette bit her lip. She couldn't really imagine having that kind of a relationship with her father. It kind of hurt to realize that the talented Gabriel Agreste, one of her idols, didn't seem to be that good to his son. But didn't Adrien say he was trying? Well, even someone that skilled had to have some flaws, right?

"I-it's no problem," she promised, voice breathless again.

"We'll come by to pick you up around 19:30, is that okay?"

Pick her up. Like on a __date__?! A chaperoned date, but... she and Adrien would be the only teenagers going! Oh, this was like a dream come true!

"T-that's g-great!" she stammered out. "Then you see! See you then! Yes! I'll dress up. Warm. Football. You know."

"Yes, I know," Adrien said, sounding infinitely lighter than when he'd initially called now that she thought about it. She felt a smile come to her lips and a warmth in her heart. "See you tonight, Marinette! And thanks again!"

She hung up the phone in a bit of a daze. "Tikki," she said softly, "w-we're going on a date!"

Tikki's mouth opened wide in happy surprise. "He asked you on a date?!"

"Well... no," Marinette replied with a frown. "His father bought tickets to a local match, but it could still be a date, right?"

"Well, you have your new hat that you can wear tonight, right?"

The girl's eyes widened and she looked down at the hat in her hands, Then she practically dove for the seam ripper. "If I'm going to wear this in front of Gabriel Agreste, it has to be __perfect!"__

Tikki just sighed.

xXx

AN: Texas Variety Katie-Bug, Cute Kirby and Lecordonbleu28 also contributed to this! You guys should totally check them out! 3

This is one of my favorite chapters, set up as it is. ;) For those of you who don't know, 'Soccer' is called 'Football' more or less everywhere except the US. So yeah, they're going to a Soccer match. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien somehow managed to finish his homework, but the hours still dragged by. Eventually, the clock read 18:59 and he took a deep breath. Nathalie knocked at exactly 19:00 (had she waited outside the door or something?) and he tried not to feel like he was walking to his doom. Simultaneously, a part of him he did _not_ want to acknowledge was excited and that lousy hope was back. He hated it.

He climbed into the limo to see his father already waiting for him, flipping through a tablet of his own. Adrien informed him that Nino couldn't come and thus he'd asked another friend from class who had agreed. His father had frowned but nodded and they'd driven over to the Dupain-Chang bakery in a stifling silence.

The Gorilla got out to knock on the bakery door and then opened and held the limo door for Marinette while she climbed in. She looked so excited when she came out of the bakery, stopping for a moment and staring at the limo in awe and then smiling and turning around to wave to her parents before getting into the car.

Well, at least one of them wasn't dreading the game. Adrien introduced her to his father. The two shook hands and Gabriel even mentioned that he recognized her. She practically lit up. It was kind of adorable. As they drove away, though, Adrien saw that she had a good amount of anxiety too and he repressed a sigh. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything earlier. Great. He'd screwed up again.

Adrien felt incredibly awkward about the whole situation and any excitement he'd had about attending a football game in person was swallowed by the anxiety of having to spend several hours with his father in this tense awkwardness. He was still grateful for Marinette's presence as he didn't think he could handle this himself.

Story of his life.

xXx

Marinette tried very hard to not make a fool of herself or babble, which she felt was understandable, seeing as she sat in a limousine with both her crush and her fashion idol. Even she noticed that any conversation made in the car was stilted, at best. She would try to start a conversation but inevitably ended up dissolving into a stuttering mess any time Adrien replied, and would grow somewhat bashful anytime his father did. She couldn't _help_ it though.

If M. Agreste tried to start a conversation no one knew how to respond because Marinette didn't really know a whole lot about the business aspects of the Agreste company and for some reason, Adrien didn't seem to want to answer. Marinette was suddenly regretting coming along at all and could only hope that Adrien and M. Agreste didn't feel as awkward as she did.

xXx

Gabriel had long given up attempting to speak and was looking at emails on his tablet still. After all, he refused to just _sit_ and not get anything done. Doing something with Adrien was one thing. Doing nothing, even with Adrien there, was quite another.

Their conversations had left something to be desired, as Adrien's friend was too timid to really answer coherently most of the time. Eventually, Adrien managed to grasp onto a good conversation topic as they pulled into the stadium.

"So, Marinette, who are you cheering for?" his son asked as they exited the car.

"P-personally, I'm a fan of P-Paris Saint Germain so I'll root for them?" That had to be the most coherent words she'd been able to string together. What was it about the collective European attitude towards football that allowed such things? Honestly, he didn't get it. "W-what about you?" Marinette continued.

Adrien shook his head, a laugh bubbling for the first time that night. "I think we might have a problem. I'm a fan of Lyon."

She seemed taken back and then her eyes narrowed. "Lyon? Seriously?"

His son crossed his arms. "Yeah. They're absolutely _paw-_ some."

Gabriel closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Why did his son have to inherit _his_ sense of humor. At least he had the sense to not say such terrible things all the time. Apparently Marinette agreed because she seemed taken back, but then her eyes narrowed.

"That was terrible."

Adrien reached a hand up and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, although he was still smiling. Marinette found this funny enough to start giggling and before he knew it, the two were laughing outright. Gabriel glanced at the teenagers, making a note to himself to buy them each a jersey to let them remember the game. For the first time that evening, he allowed himself a small smile in relief. Things were looking up.

The older designer excused himself for a few minutes once they had their seats, in the VIP section of course, and returned with Jerseys for the two teams. They were cheaply made (well, comparatively so) and garish, but the ice had been broken, and he'd rather prefer to keep this going. Letting Adrien invite a friend seemed to have been rather inspired on his part. And thankfully, he could now see why Adrien thought of Marinette as a friend. Gabriel hadn't been a hundred percent sure about that until they'd gotten to the stadium. The stilted conversation in the car had been every bit as painful as he'd imagined it would be (perhaps more so with Adrien's friend there). She'd seemed so uncomfortable around Adrien, stuttering and blushing whenever he'd spoken. Gabriel wasn't sure what to think of that. He knew a crush when he saw one. She still seemed to fall back to that every now and then, but she'd gotten over her initial timidity for the most part, and Gabriel couldn't be more grateful.

When they'd started talking about the teams it was almost like she'd become a different person. Where she'd been shy before, she was forward now. Where she'd been silent, she now laughed. Where she'd been submissive, she now seemed competitive, all from mentioning their love of the two different teams. Now Gabriel just had to insert himself every now and then, show a little support and he'd call today a success.

He still felt like this would be a waste of time, though. Why watch sports when you could be __doing__ something useful, like hammering out details for the next photoshoot. He crushed that part of him, though, reminding himself that he needed 'down time' too and that there would be more than enough time to set things up later. Answering his e-mails would have to do for now, and he was determined to not do even that during the game. This was time with Adrien and his friend.

He strode back to the seats with his purchases in hand. He'd decided against food or drink as they didn't have anything here that Adrien could eat on his diet (they were going to ruin it later anyway, he had no intention of encouraging his son to do so at every opportunity), and it would most likely undermine the entire point if he bought something for the girl and not for his son.

"Here," he said simply when he returned (sadly to find them both sitting in awkward silence again, and he internally swore).

Both of their faces lit up, Marinette's with a sort of happy disbelief and Adrien with just shock.

"Th-thank you, M. Agreste!" Marinette said, grabbing hers and shoving it over her head right then and there.

"I apologize that it clashes with your hat."

"Oh! I-it's okay," she said, shyly but obviously happy. "I sh-should have thought to make a hat in the colors of the t-team I support," she replied, "but I was excited to wear the one I just made."

Adrien, who had taken his jacket off and put the shirt on, looked over at his friend. "You made that, Marinette?"

The girl blushed deeply. "Y-yes."

Gabriel couldn't help but scrutinize it. The fabric was obviously fairly cheap, but it was well made and aligned perfectly. "It looks very nice," he said. It was obviously not professional make, but it came close. Very close. He made a mental note to keep an eye on this girl's career.

"Look," Adrien said suddenly, his eyes focused on the field below. Off to one sideline, two people in matching colors (Saint Germain team) seemed to be yelling at each other. The other teammates came and intervened, but one man walked away, fuming, while the other smirked at his retreating back. Gabriel rubbed his chin. Too bad he refused to become Hawk Moth this week. That man would have most likely made a perfect Akuma.

"I hope we don't have an Akuma attack now," he heard Marinette breathe.

That startled him. "Pardon me?"

Marinette seemed to remember what she'd just said and shrunk back a little.

Before either she or Gabriel could say anything, Adrien piped up. "Well the guy's obviously upset. He's probably an akuma candidate," he said, agreeing with Marinette. "Perhaps we should go check on him?"

He expected level-headedness (or at least shyness, he'd take it) from Marinette, but she simply nodded, looking worried. Gabriel had to stop them. He couldn't simply allow them to sneak into the back, as they obviously shouldn't, or even let them out of his sight. He most certainly wasn't going to be heading back there himself.

"I doubt Hawk Moth will attack now," Gabriel replied as calmly as he could, stopping the two. "And besides, how do you know he will be a target?"

Adrien stiffened a bit and looked like he was about to say something (probably some excuse that would make no sense, knowing him lately) when Marinette spoke up. "Well, most of our class has been Akumatized. Actually," she paused and thought for a moment. "All of them have been... except me... and you, Adrien."

It was true that Gabriel had never sensed Adrien's emotions... and yet he knew the boy often got disappointed and angry. Was he _that_ used to disappointment? Was it his normal state? Or close enough to his normal state that being particularly angry didn't even register? Suddenly, Gabriel felt all the more uncomfortable as Marinette continued.

"They don't often like to talk about it, but... there's a support group that meets every now and then and I know most of our class has attended. Myself included."

That took Gabriel back. "Support group?" he asked, able to keep any nervousness out of his tone only through sheer habit. "But don't the victims," he loathed using that word, but it is what the media coined, "forget everything?"

Both of the teens looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

"And doesn't Ladybug fix all the damage when he's done? So why does it matter?" He continued as if their looks hadn't made him question his life decisions.

Adrien cocked his head, looking confused and more than a little worried. "Dad, you were an Akuma."

"Don't you remember what it was like to wake up and realize that you'd done things you would never do?" Marinette asked, sounding incredulous.

"Like come after me," Adrien muttered.

Gabriel frowned. Unlike the others, he actually remembered what he'd done as an Akuma. Not that anyone else knew that. Except Nathalie, of course. Although, he was supposed to have gone after Adrien as an akuma, but he hadn't said that aloud during his stint as an akuma. At least not to anyone he hadn't promptly captured. Had he? And he didn't remember saying anything afterwards either...

"Yes," he replied after a few seconds of contemplation. "It was a good thing you hid."

"Yeah," Adrien replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Before they could do anything else, Lyon started the game with a kick off and the three fell into an awkward silence.

"So," Gabriel said a few minutes into the match. "You never answered my question about the support group and why it's necessary."

"I'm pretty sure we did," Adrien said, half to himself.

Marinette shot him a strange look before turning back to Gabriel. "Sir, my best friend was Akumatized. She woke up without her memory realizing that she had attacked her idols, caused a lot of damage and traumatized people. It even came out later that she __locked Chat Noir__ in a __freezer__. Two other people in my class and the girl I babysit for all became akumas that controlled other people – took away their very ability to even __choose__."

She shook her head and seemed to think for a minute. "I've become a minion to akumas myself, chasing after my friend who runs the Ladyblog. Waking up afterwords and realizing all of that... it's the __worst__ feeling. You keep second guessing yourself, asking yourself again and again that if you'd just done one thing different, could you have changed it? Avoided or resisted the Akumatization? Stopped someone from getting hurt? Somehow prevented yourself from working for a mad man determined to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous?"

Gabriel frowned. He'd have to address that in a minute, but she was still making a point. It was funny, before she'd been so shy. Then she'd been competitive. Now, she just looked determined, like an immovable object. Just how many faces did this girl have? It was almost drastic enough for him to think she had a mild form of DID.

"People – former akuma victims and their own victims – feel guilty and disoriented and vulnerable... It's not something you just get over."

Adrien nodded. "I really don't get why you, of all people, don't understand that," he said, half aloud, half to himself.

Gabriel shook his head, match completely forgotten. "We don't have a single case where someone has resisted Hawk Moth," at least not that they knew of. "It isn't their fault at all. They shouldn't feel guilty for something they had no control over."

Marinette's brow furrowed. "That doesn't stop them from feeling like they've been taken advantage of. That's why they're called victims. It's like they've been violated on a far more personal level than anything we've ever known about before, then had their choices stripped away and then half forced/half coerced into doing terrible things. Whether they should or shouldn't feel guilty is irrelevant because they still _do_."

Both of the Agrestes were looking at her now with a sort of open shock. Around them, the stadium erupted into cheers as one team scored a goal. None of the three of them acknowledged it.

"I see," Gabriel replied. He'd... never really thought of it like that. "I still don't think that Hawk Moth is a mad man, though."

And it went back to both of the teens staring at him as if he'd sprouted wings. He hadn't. He checked.

"How can you say that?" Adrien asked as if he couldn't comprehend.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Think about it, Adrien," he snapped, a little harsher than he meant to judging by the way the two of them flinched a little. So he tried to seem less upset as he continued. "Hawk Moth goes after ordinary, middle-class people who have had a bad day. They tend to be flashy and flamboyant, obvious and not always the most intelligent – at least in their akuma forms – with a few exceptions. It's obvious he's trying to draw the heroes out. He isn't trying to hurt anyone."

Marinette turned to face him, her hands on her hips, even though she hadn't stood yet. "His akuma cause so much destruction it's a miracle no one has gotten severely hurt, or worse – __killed.__ The Miraculous Cure can undo a lot, but I''m not sure it can undo death. With that in mind, here's an example: the Eiffel tower has been knocked down or destroyed or vanished more than once. It's a tourist attraction that constantly has people in it and around it. Attacking that, or any other landmark, is __asking__ for trouble and casualties. That doesn't even touch on how people get trapped by rubble, or worse, become minions. How could he __not__ be trying to hurt anyone?"

The older Agreste found himself leaning forward ever so slightly, although he still managed a calm, if intense, voice. "He hasn't gone to the truly despicable people of the city. The mob bosses. The psychopathic murderers. The sociopathic business men. The silent killers. He's obviously after the heroes, not the city, and he obviously isn't out to kill them."

"Well then why is he after them?" Marinette returned, just as intense. "Why would he want the miraculous except to use them? The kind of power they give is scary sometimes. I don't know how old the heroes are or what their lives have been like, but they do flips around like they've grown up with trapeze artists in a circus. Judging from most of the people I've known, I think the Miraculous give them that ability set. They also seem to know some kind of martial arts, and I have no idea if that's something they've learned or if it's a Miraculous thing, but with the agility they show, I wouldn't doubt the latter. Their strength can also be scary judging from what Alya says, and she's analyzed more or less everything about them. That doesn't even count their special moves or magic weapons."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "But doesn't Hawk Moth already have a miraculous? Wouldn't he have the same enhancements?"

The two seemed a bit taken back and he realized his mistake. Only miraculous holders would know that – although Adrien knew he had the book on the Miraculous. Still, he thought it was a good idea to cover himself. "Well, I assumed he did." He put a hand to his chin. "I suppose it could be something else, although I've never heard of anything other than a Miraculous that can do something like that."

"Well, whether he does or not, it has to be different from Ladybug and Chat Noir," Marinette insisted. "Or else he'd come out and fight himself. If he had that kind of strength and backed up some of this akuma, he might actually stand a chance."

"Don't say that aloud," Adrien hissed, looking around. "We don't know who's listening and we don't want to give him ideas! The heroes have enough of a problem as it is." Marinette and Gabriel glanced around as well, but while people would flick their gazes to them, few seemed to be actually listening. Thank goodness.

Gabriel sighed and shook his head. "You young people, thinking everything is black and white. I still say Hawk Moth isn't the villain everyone makes him out to be."

The dark haired girl shook her head. "Whether it's black and white or not, here is what we know about Hawk Moth: 1. He wants very powerful objects and we don't know for what reason. 2. He's never actually even tried to tell anyone why. The only time we've heard him speak, he tried to paint Ladybug and Chat Noir as the responsible party for the akuma. Not exactly building points here. 3. He's __hurting__ people and causing damage. Even if he knew about Ladybug's ability – fairly likely if he's been able to do research I'll concede – he was taking a gamble on all sorts of property, and that doesn't even begin to touch on the violation thing I told you about earlier that they talk about nearly every week in the support group. 4. He's willing to akumatize children and __babies__. The fact that he does what he does to people at all is disgusting. The fact that he does that to c _ _hildren__ is heinous.

"If he really wanted to come out and talk, he could have done so the first time Ladybug and Chat Noir were seen fighting akuma. Instead he dragged it out and has brought more and more people into his personal fight." She shook her head and sat back. "No matter what you come up with, what he's doing is wrong. Unless his reasoning has something to do with preventing something __worse__ from happening (in which case he __should__ have come out and spoken with the heroes from the get go), he isn't the good guy here."

"And have you ever considered that the attitude that you, and apparently most of Paris, has is the reason why he doesn't __try__ to talk? Has Ladybug or Chat Noir ever asked him outright? He must have some connection to his akuma. Have the heroes ever even bothered to understand?"

"That doesn't excuse what he's done."

"What if he has no other choice? What if, for whatever reason he needs the Miraculous for non-nefarious ends?"

"There's always another way that doesn't hurt people!"

"What if there __is__ no other way?!"

"Then he needs to __tell__ people! Maybe they have a way he doesn't know about! And whether they do or not, people have a right to know why they're being targeted!"

Gabriel scoffed. "And who should he tell? Who would possibly understand what he's going through?"

"If he honestly thinks that no one in the city has felt what he has, then he's either extremely arrogant or naive."

"Somehow I don't think he's the naive one here. If Ladybug and Chat Noir would just give up their miraculous, they could prevent a lot of damage."

"How do we know that? How could __anyone__ possibly believe that? Giving into the demands of a terrorist, no matter how they're holding back, __never__ works well in the end! And how can we, as Parisians, believe Hawk Moth won't just use the Miraculous to destroy the city, or the world? Maybe the system we have right now isn't ideal, but at least Ladybug can restore everything. It's far better than giving something that powerful to someone who obviously doesn't have Paris' well-being in mind."

"Well—" Gabriel started, but was cut off..

"Whoa!" blond hair and green eyes and... wait. That's Adrien. Gabriel didn't want to admit, but he'd almost forgotten his son was there. "That's enough! Both of you! Dad," he turned to Gabriel. "I know you like playing the devil's advocate, but Marinette has some good points. No matter the reason for what he's doing, he's still actively hurting people to accomplish his goal. All that will do is create more pain that goes around and around. Marinette," he turned to his friend. "You're most likely right, but maybe Dad has a point too. The heroes have never asked Hawk Moth why he's after what he's after. Not that we can trust what he says, but I think I'll write something on the Ladyblog tonight and suggest that they ask the next Akuma. It's worth a shot, isn't it? A peaceful solution?"

Marinette still looked skeptical, but she did let the point drop. As did Gabriel.

"I'll tell you, that verbal sparring match was almost better than the actual game," Adrien commented, sitting back in his chair with a smug, if wry, smile.

"Oh, be quiet, you," Marinette muttered. Her face went bright red again.

Gabriel sighed. She changed __again.__ Women.

They turned back to the football match and didn't speak of anything of such importance for the rest of the game.

xXx

*snicker* And hence the reason why you don't set the alter egos of 2 heroes and a villain in the same room for an extended period of time. This was such a fun chapter to write. I hope you all like it. :)

Still happy to have help for anyone who wants to go over to the Miraculous Challenges Forum here on FFNET!

I would like to thank Texas Variety Katie-Bug, Cute Kirby and Lecordonbleu28 for their help and contribution!


	7. Chapter 7

Adrien set his box of food (that he'd just picked at) on the table and collapsed onto his couch almost as soon as he'd shut the door. He felt his shirt move as his kwami made a bee-line for his stash of Camembert. Normally he'd worry about storing something like cheese at room temperature, but A. the dairy product never stayed around long enough to go bad because Plagg got to it first and B. Adrien didn't think it possible for the cheese to stink worse than it already did.

Great, now he was distracting himself with the worst food in existence. He groaned.

"Well that could have gone better. Your girlfriend and your dad __really__ didn't get along, did they?" Plagg floated back to hover near Adrien's shoulder, holding a particularly large wheel of his favorite substance, savoring the taste as he took bite after bite instead of gulping the entire thing down at once like he usually did.

"She's not my girlfriend, Plagg." Adrien muttered, mostly out of habit by this point. The rest of the game hadn't gone so badly... but there had been a heavy atmosphere hanging over them the whole while. After the game had finished, they'd taken Marinette home, said an awkward goodbye and watched her walk inside. Her team had won, but she'd still seemed strangely subdued.

"But yeah, that could have gone better," he agreed. "I mean, I get what she's saying. Hawkmoth really shouldn't do what he's doing, but my father is also right. We don't know his motives. Maybe we could stop him if we knew __why__ he wanted our miraculous. Maybe we should ask him? I mean, at least we can say we tried, right?"

He glanced over to see Plagg staring at him with those large, neon-green eyes. "Wow, kid. Just when I thought you couldn't reach any higher levels of naivety."

"I'm not that naive," Adrien protested.

The black kwami snorted and went back to his cheese. "Sure, kid. Whatever you say."

"I'm not!" the blond insisted tiredly. "And I want to talk Ladybug into at least trying. I guess that will have to wait until the next akuma attack, though. I'm just glad dad was right and we didn't get one at the game." Adrien sighed and slumped down further into the couch, trying to keep himself from more upset.

He really wished the rest of the game had been less awkward. It had started out so well. Watching them argue like that had been highly amusing. Then they'd all just... clammed up. He didn't blame Marinette for that. It didn't matter who it was, his father always seemed to get on his friends' nerves. He remembered the Bubbler incident with Nino and shuddered.

"I wonder if my father even realizes he upsets my friends. Or cares." Although, he wasn't sure if that was fair anymore because Gabriel had tried. For once. He'd even bought the jersey Adrien was still wearing. A generic jersey.

"Dunno. Point it out to him," Plagg said with a shrug.

Adrien rolled his eyes. "I think it's rather obvious."

"So?" the fairy asked, finally finishing off his cheese with a pleased grin.

"How would I 'point it out to him'?" Adrien asked, lifting his head to frown at his kwami. "'Oh, dad, by the way, you know all that arguing you tend to do when my friends come over? Yeah, could you stop?' I'm sure that would go over swimmingly."

"Why wouldn't it?"

Adrien sighed, starting to feel worse than he had before. "Because that would be challenging him, and he hates being challenged. Maybe I'm just doomed to never having the people in my life like each other." Adrien shrugged sadly. Yet again, he found himself very glad that he had a miraculous. If he weren't Chat Noir then he was sure he'd be a prime candidate for akumatization right now. According to Plagg, it _could_ still happen, if he was angry or sad enough, but was highly unlikely even then, unless Hawk Moth was specifically looking for him – as in his civilian self. "Besides, it's not like Marinette, or even Nino, helped the situation, although at least they tried to.

"I don't know what to do, Plagg. I can't just talk to my dad. He wouldn't understand. And Nino doesn't want to have anything to do with him. Now Marinette probably doesn't either... and she started out _liking_ him." Plagg made a grunting sound, spitting up a small crumb of cheese, causing it to land on Adrien's cheek, which he wiped off with a disdainful look. "Ugh. Plagg!"

The kwami ignored him. "So what will you do?"

Adrien frowned, wiping his finger on his shirt as he thought about that question. It took him a few moments to realize that he didn't know. "Maybe I should apologize...?" he said slowly.

"To Marinette or your father?"

"Yes, I mean both," although the idea of apologizing to his father _again_ rubbed him wrong. It felt too much like asking for that acknowledgment he still didn't dare hope he'd ever get. But the idea of just letting this sit there, making future interactions even _more_ awkward didn't sit well with him either. He clenched his fists in frustration. Then he sighed. "I really should try and fix this. I mean, my dad bought us football tickets and the jerseys and even food afterwards," even though he'd called ahead to a favorite, expensive restaurant and simply picked it up in boxes. He wondered what the looks on the worker's faces had been when his father had requested that. He'd also just ordered all the food himself, not asking their opinion. Ugh, this was just too confusing! But still... "I feel like I should do something for him."

"But..." Plagg asked, one eyebrow raised, urging Adrien to go on.

"But I don't want things to go back to how they were, with me trying so hard and him barely acknowledging my existence. He's trying... but how long will that really last? He said he was going to schedule long-term, but..." He groaned. "Why is this all so frustrating?"

Plagg shrugged. "Because it's not cheese. Why are you asking me? It's not like I have a father. I don't know how to solve your problems."

That derailed his frustration almost altogether, and Adrien looked at the black, floating creature, surprised. "What do you mean you don't have a father?"

Plagg licked his lips, picking up any remnants of Camembert, before lazily drifting down to sit next to Adrien. "I'm a Kwami. We're basically gods or fairies or whatever you want to call us. We don't work the same way you humans do."

"Um... how are you alive then?"

Plagg shrugged, still licking his paws. "I was manifested by the raw energies of the universe."

Adrien blinked. "Oh." For a moment, he wanted to ask more, but then he decided that he didn't want to try to figure out the biological history or the existence of Kwamis. Well, he did (that sounded interesting), but he wanted to resolve his frustrating situation first. Obviously Plagg would be of little help anymore, with an answer like that.

He flopped back on the couch again, suddenly feeling stifled and strained. It wasn't an unusual feeling, but that didn't exactly help him feel better. Usually when things like this happened, he needed some fresh air. He looked out the window and saw the night sky, the moon slung low, almost touching the horizon, hints of wispy clouds covering what few stars made it through the light pollution. It was a cool night, but not cold.

He knew he wouldn't find a better way to clear his mind. "Plagg, we're leaving for a while. Claws out."

He didn't care what he did, where he went, or how long he was out. Adrien, now Chat Noir, just wanted a break; a breather so he could wrap his head around all of this confusion. Chat, despite his bad luck, seemed to be better at doing that then his true self.

xXx

An hour later, Chat Noir sat on the top of the Eiffel Tower with his baton phone out, writing that post he'd been talking about. He'd be posting under the name 'Adrien' often posted under instead of 'Chat Noir' so as to avoid awkward questions... well, more awkward questions. He was sure he would get flack for this submission, but it needed to be done. He was immensely glad that his baton could even receive the internet because he really didn't want to type all this up at home. The connection had been a recent development that he considered a godsend.

He read over his post for the third time before he hit "submit" and then closed the program down with a sigh. His mind drifted back to earlier that night. Plagg had made it seem like his father and Marinette had been at each others' throats, but now that he thought about it, they'd just seemed rather impassioned. And afterwards, Marinette had just gone back to being shy, and his father had backed off behind his stoic mask and it had all ended so... blah. Maybe he was reading too much into it? His father did make for an intimidating figure and was the top of his field – a field Marinette eventually wanted to get into herself. Maybe she'd been upset that she'd called him out? Adrien would be. Well, he would have been before he'd realized that he'd never gain his father's approval. Except now he had? Maybe? Kind of?

"Aarg!" he growled aloud, grabbing his hair in frustration. This was too much still. He thought a run would help him sort it out, but it hadn't. Even trying to look at a bigger picture didn't help.

First, his father had been normal. Not around as often as his mother, but still there and supportive. Then his mother had vanished and the man had become a ghost, practically not there most of the time and drifting in and out when he was. Then he'd become a statue, cold and hard and demanding. And now... almost two years after her disappearance, __now__ he wants to try and be a father again? Part of Adrien wondered if he was doing this just to screw with his son. To keep him off balance. It was working.

"I didn't expect to find you out tonight, Chaton," a voice behind him had him turning to see Ladybug striding towards him, one eyebrow raised.

He couldn't help but perk up just a little. "My Lady," he said with a half-bow.

"What has you so worked up?" She asked.

He opened his mouth to reply before pausing and then closing it again. He couldn't say too much without giving away personal information, and he hadn't found a way to shut her down faster.

He sighed, brought his knees up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. "It's... complicated."

"Well, if you need someone to talk to..." she said, trailing off expectantly at the end.

Chat frowned and glanced down at his baton, looking for something to tell her.

Well, that could work at least.

"Do you follow the Ladyblog?" he asked. He knew she did sometimes, but she didn't seem to be as religious about it as he was.

"Yes," she said.

"Did you read the note that was just posted?" he asked. He doubted it. She'd probably already been in costume.

She blinked in confusion. "No."

He nodded. "It's about Hawk Moth."

He expected some kind of reaction – horror, disgust, interest, wariness – what he got was a blank slate. She'd never been so expressionless before that he could remember. He didn't like it. It reminded him too much of his Father.

"What about him?" she asked after a few moments of tense silence.

"Well, someone pointed out that we don't really know why Hawk Moth wants our miraculous."

Somehow, her expression cooled without really moving a muscle and she turned to look out at Paris as well. "He's a megalomaniac that wants power."

Chat flinched a little at that and deflated. "You're probably right. But... they have a point. What if he's not?"

"Then he shouldn't be hurting people."

He didn't answer for a few moments. He could respond with all sorts of arguments, many of which his father had brought up earlier that night. But the thing was, he didn't really want to. He didn't want to defend Hawk Moth or his actions, because no matter his reasons, they were still wrong.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

She turned her frown on him, looking wary. "You guess?"

He shrugged. "I don't know his motivations. I don't know if he's choosing the lesser of two evils. I don't know how desperate he is. He's still wrong, but I don't know, so yeah. I guess."

Her brow furrowed as she studied him for several seconds.

"Do you want to ask him next attack?" she asked slowly.

Again, he shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'd like to say it couldn't hurt, but even I'm not that naive." No matter what he and Plagg had argued about earlier. "Still, the guy on here asks if it isn't worth it to try and find a peaceful solution. Part of me wants to say no, but part of me... I mean, I've never liked violence."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You haven't?"

He perked up a bit, seeing an opportunity. "My Lady!" he said putting a hand over his heart. "How could you think I would ever condone such a thing! Absolutely __claw-__ ful."

She rolled her eyes at him, but he saw the corner of her mouth twitch a bit. "I guess you always just seemed the type."

"That hurts me right here, My Lady!"

She groaned and put a hand to her shaking head.

Then her expression sobered. "I can't help but think that if we try to talk to him that we're going to be trying to bargain with a terrorist."

He returned her sentiment as he felt his ears droop. "Yeah."

"But... I'd like to say we tried everything first. That finding him, fighting him and arresting him was a last resort."

"So... you think we should ask his next akuma?"

Her smile looked hopeful but worried. He couldn't blame her. "Yeah," she replied with a nod.

His ears rose again and he smiled back. "Thank you, My Lady."

Unsurprisingly, he went home feeling much calmer than when he'd left.

xXx

My list of fellow writers is getting big: Lecordonbleu28, Cute Kirby, Texas Variety Katie-Bug, and we've gotten a few new people even. :) This is gonna be fun. Thank you everyone! 3


	8. Chapter 8

Seven days.

It had been seven whole days since anyone had seen hide or hair of an akuma. The rest of Paris had gotten over the tenseness and seemed to take this as a pleasant break, happily going about their lives with relief and hope.

Adrien couldn't.

"Seriously, maybe he just took a vacation," Plagg said lazily to a pacing Adrien. He should be working on his homework, but instead he was pacing around his room, running his hand through his hair and trying not to let this horrible waiting get to him. "Or maybe we're really lucky and he's stopped."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Adrien grumbled. Plagg didn't deny it, instead stuffing more cheese down his throat.

"Or maybe he moved out of Paris."

Adrien froze, eyes widening as a lump of ice formed in his stomach.

"What if he has?" he asked suddenly. "How could we get somewhere else to fight an akuma?"

Plagg shrugged. "You could ask your dad. With how everything is going lately, he just might take you where you need to go."

Adrien glared down at him. "Ha, ha. You're hilarious."

The kwami stretched and floated in front of Adrien. "I doubt Hawk Moth has left. He's after the ring and the earrings. He's not just about to leave them behind."

Well, that was a relief at least. Adrien let out a breath of air. But that didn't stop the fact that they still didn't know what was going on with Hawk Moth. Perhaps Ladybug had a point and they needed to figure out a way to not react all the time but be proactive. He went back to pacing, running both hands through his hair this time.

A knock on his door caused him to pause and turn. "Yes?"

Nathalie walked in. "It's time."

Adrien didn't know whether to groan or shift nervously. "Already?" His father, determined as he seemed to be, had scheduled another hour this evening. Really, Adrien had seen his father more in the last week than in the last 3 months. Surreal seemed like a good word to describe it all. And he really felt like at any given moment, he'd wake up to find it all a dream.

He just... couldn't trust it.

He wasn't sure he wanted to.

Sure, he could change and adapt to act in the moment, and he knew his father was trying (for once, although he still wasn't sure how long that would last) but then he got back to his room and it was like he returned to real life, where his father saw him as an employee and he would have to learn to just deal with the hand he'd been dealt.

It was a roller coaster he really didn't want to continue on anymore. At one point, he'd either give back into that hope (most likely only to have it stolen from him) or he'd be able to leave all of this behind.

He knew which one was safer... but, deep down, no matter what he told himself, he also knew which one he preferred.

And he still hated himself for it.

xXx

They were back in the sitting room of doom (as Adrien had named it in his mind). Trying to repress his weariness, he followed Nathalie through the door to see his father sitting in the same chair he had been in before, tapping on a tablet.

When Adrien was shown to the seat opposite of his father, he noticed the tea that had been set on the table as well and a nearby tray with the kettle on it and a vegetable array. Of course. No cookies in this household.

Despite everything, Adrien squared his shoulders as he sat and waited patiently for his father.

"Nathalie, you may leave."

"Yes, sir," she said with a bow before turning and walking out of the room.

"So, what will we be discussing today, father?" Adrien hoped his voice didn't sound as dead as he felt.

"I was actually looking up the rules to a game."

That caused Adrien to blink. "A game?"

Gabriel nodded. "I believe it is called UNO?" He reached over and held up a deck of new cards from behind the tray where they hadn't been visible to Adrien.

He just stared at his father. "Seriously?" he finally asked.

His father shrugged ever so slightly. "It is either that, or go fish."

Adrien blinked again. He was doing that a lot lately.

"Deal it out," he said.

xXx

The phrases 'cut throat' and 'card game' had never been particularly related in Adrien's mind until he played with his father.

It took him a minimum of three games and several interesting looks from the older Agreste (ranging from disappointed to amused, although he never said a single thing) before Adrien stepped up his game and actually won a round. He thought the level of competition kind of ridiculous. It was just a card game. Of course, that didn't stop him and his father from destroying each others' chances to win and thwarting their opponents' supposed attacks simultaneously.

It was brutal.

He wasn't quite sure exactly how he felt about it all when he left to go finish his homework. He supposed that how his father treated such games said a lot about who he was. The man went into things playing for keeps. He always had. That was probably what he'd had to do to be successful in his business. Adrien supposed that after so long, the kind of discipline necessary for something like that would leak over into his daily life. No wonder he'd always been so busy and...

Then he realized his thought process and shook his head harshly. That was how he'd thought before. Giving his father excuses and reasons and passes. That didn't stop the fact that he'd hurt Adrien and it wasn't any different now. It didn't excuse him from locking his son away from the rest of the world and somehow thinking he could build meaningful relationships in the future without ever having had the practice before.

He clenched his fists as he walked to his room and closed the door, knowing very well that he would most likely go out as Chat Noir earlier than usual that night.

xXx

Nathalie knew that Gabriel was considering these meetings a success. She didn't quite have the heart or the bravery to tell him how much this change of events was getting to Adrien... and not necessarily in a good way. Oh, she firmly believed that Adrien would come around eventually, but right now he looked (and acted) more conflicted than ever and it worried her.

She sighed as she put the newest video she'd recorded, one of Adrien and Gabriel playing that match of war (it wasn't Uno, no Uno game was supposed to be that subtly violent), into the new folder she'd created. It already had a fair amount of files.

For a few seconds, she just sat there staring at the electronic folder before sighing. Why was she doing this? Neither Gabriel nor Adrien would really appreciate it... at least not now. And yet, she couldn't really let the opportunity pass by either.

Maybe she'd keep this secret from both of them... for a long, __long__ time to come...

xXx

Adrien woke up that Saturday morning at the usual time of 6:00. It was the first time in a long time he slapped the alarm off and practically flew out of bed. By the time 6:30 came around, he had showered and dressed. By the time he was supposed to leave, at 7, he'd slicked back his hair and put makeup on. He was going to do his best to make sure Marinette's costume contest went wonderfully.

Nathalie and the Gorilla both eyed him as he got into his car to head over to Marinette's but neither said anything.

When Marinette threw open the side door that led into her parents' apartment, though, he almost had a heart attack. She'd obviously gotten up far earlier than he had because she was already in her costume. Something she seemed to realize very quickly as her face went red.

Adrien didn't know what to say because that was the freaking cutest Chat Noire outfit he'd ever seen. She'd only made a few changes from his actual suit, and yet it seemed like a completely different outfit on her.

The fact that she pulled the suit off far better than even he, a model, ever could had nothing to do with it.

"A-adrien!" she squeaked out and then smiled as she stepped aside. The smile looked a little forced, but huge nonetheless. It was, he supposed, an improvement. "Inside come," she said. Then realized her slip up. "Come inside!"

He smiled reassuringly at her, trying to keep his gaze on her face. It wasn't that difficult with her eyes. She'd even gotten green, slitted contacts that covered her sclera! The green didn't completely hide her blue underneath, but it still looked amazing. When this girl put her mind to it, she really went all out. He wondered if his eyes really looked like that when he transformed.

He also wondered what she would say if she knew the _real_ Chat Noir was standing in front of her.

Right about then, he realized he'd been staring for a little too long and looked away.

"Y-you look great," he managed to get out.

"T-thank you," she replied. "A-alya's stairs up. Upstairs! Sh-she's already in her costume and w-w-was just about t-t-to put on her makeup."

"I'm way ahead of you," he said, perking up to that. "I already have makeup on."

"I tell can. I can tell!"

"Did you get me a wig?" He asked, excitedly heading up the stairs.

"Y-yes. I-it's short. Is that okay?"

He glanced over his shoulder and grinned widely at her. "It's your vision for Crossplay Ladybug. If you think a short wig works best, then I'm all for it."

Her cheeks somehow went redder. "O-okay."

"Where is it? I want to change into it asap!"

Marinette just stared at him for several seconds, and he wondered if he'd said or done something wrong. Then she smiled and giggled a little. "I'm glad you're so into this," she said without stuttering once. Then she motioned towards her room. "This way."

Grinning happily, he followed her up and glanced around to see Alya standing in her Lady Wifi costume in front of the mirror on the back of Marinette's bureau. She didn't have her mask on and that was one of the only things that stopped Adrien from outright attacking her. The costume was _way_ too close to the real thing for comfort.

"There you are, pretty boy," she said teasingly – which, admittedly helped with the whole 'don't attack her' thing. "Your costume's over there and the bathroom is free. Marinette can put on her wig while you're changing."

"Right," Adrien said with a nod and a grin before grabbing the pile of red-spotted material and heading into the bathroom.

He didn't like taking off the ring, but she'd made his suit full-on spandex, down to the gloved hands and he put the ring right back on afterward. He felt a little exposed in the costume, but it fit him well and wasn't so tight as to be indecent. Marinette had even made red-spotted, zip-up boots. After checking himself out in the bathroom mirror (and rather liking what he saw, maybe he could suggest he and Ladybug switch miraculous... just once? Would that be unprofessional?), he shoved his clothes into his bag, then turned to Plagg.

"Let me guess, I'm going to be stuck in your smelly backpack all day," Plagg said, arms crossed and expression deadpan.

Adrien just rolled his eyes. "Unless you have a better option."

Plagg grumbled and floated over to the bag. "For the record, you look better as a cat," he said.

Adrien grinned, but didn't say anything before zipping up the bag and walking out.

Marinette had managed to get her blond wig on. She'd obviously spent time styling it as it hung in almost spiky layers down just past her shoulders. It looked good on her. He couldn't help but wonder exactly what his Lady would look like in his costume and if she'd pull it off as well as Marinette did.

Of course, she took one look at him, squeaked and tripped, nearly falling flat on her face.

"Marinette," he said worriedly, rushing forward. "Are you alright?"

She managed to shoot a thumbs up at him. "Y-y-yeah, I'm hot – fine! You're fine. I mean, I'm good, thank you."

Next to them, Alya snickered. "It's par for the course when it comes to Mari," she said with a shake of her head as she turned to finish putting the final touches on her otherwise natural-looking makeup.

"You should be more careful," Adrien said to Marinette. Everyone knew how clumsy she was. That didn't mean he wanted to see her trip and accidentally injure herself.

"R-right."

An awkward silence fell over the room as Adrien stood up.

"So, mask or wig first?"

"Oh, right!" Marinette said, turning towards the chaise and grabbing the red-spotted mask. "I r-really hope this f-f-fits."

He smiled. "I'm sure it will well enough." It wouldn't' be the first time he'd had to wear something uncomfortable if it didn't. He'd deal.

"W-we're using eyelash g-glue to put the masks on our face. D-d-don't tear it off without getting r-remover first."

Adrien's eyes widened. Eyelash glue could take off skin. He'd have to be pretty careful, but he had to admit, it was better than a rubber band or something like that.

"A-alright," she said. Uncapping the glue and putting a few dots around the edges of the mask. Then she waited for it to get tacky and stuck it onto his face. It didn't fit him perfectly, but it wasn't anything he couldn't put up with either.

He held that on for about a minute while Marinette helped Alya do the same thing. When he moved his hand away, the mask stuck. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as his transformed mask, but it didn't feel like it was about to fall off either. Quietly, he sneaked a peek at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but pose for a second because he may not look as good as his Lady, but he didn't exactly look bad either. And the red and black somehow made him feel empowered. No wonder his Lady was so confident.

"Um, Adrien?" he stopped posing and whirled around to see Alya and Marinette staring at him. He rubbed his head sheepishly. "What are you doing?"

"Uh... just... looking. You know."

The girls exchanged glances and then smiles.

"You do make that look good," Alya said. "Maybe even better than Ladybug."

He returned her grin. "Not a chance."

"Y-you need your wig," Marinette said shyly. Adrien grinned and took the black, synthetic thing she'd also, obviously styled into a nice, slicked back style that really did somehow remind him of Ladybug. She also had a hair net. He put the black hairnet on and then the wig and looked in the mirror again. He didn't look like himself at all. No one would be able to tell it was Adrien Agreste under this mask. Admittedly, he didn't have a glamor in this, but he looked different enough that even if his father did see him (perish the thought) Adrien would have a solid defense of 'no one would recognize me'.

"This looks so great, Marinette," he said, turning to her again and unable to hide his huge grin. "It's incredible. I can't even... just..."

"Calm down there, puppy," Alya laughed. "It looks like we're all done. Which is good. We can go pick up Nino and get there early.

"Puppy?" Adrien asked in mock offense. "I'm part of the dynamic duo of Paris! And right now I am Ladybug! Lordbug? Hmm... name's in progress. Hope that doesn't _bug_ you."

Both girls stared at him in horror.

"No," Marinette suddenly said. "No, no! Ladybug does _not_ pun! _Ever_."

"Aw, come on, kitten," Adrien said to her, unable to keep his more Chat side back. Maybe it had something to do with the masks?

Marinette's eyes flew wide and she squeaked again. "K-k-kitten?"

And that quickly, he realized he must have made her uncomfortable and he backed off immediately.

"S-sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"N-no, it's o-o-okay," she started, but Alya cut in.

"She's right, though," she said to Adrien before turning to her best friend. "Girl, it's up to you to pun and flirt today. Meanwhile, M. Ladybug, you are supposed to be confident, smooth and serious."

"Ladybug isn't _always_ serious," Marinette muttered.

Alya just rolled her eyes.

"Alright, come on you two. We want to get there early. The costume contest isn't until later this morning, but we can get to the dealer's room and artist alley before everyone else! The Ladyblog will love this!"

With that, the girl ushered her two friends out of the room, although not before they grabbed their bags.

xXx

Okay, so a pretty big list of people who have helped out/written for this story: Cute Kurby, Lecordonbleu28, Texas Variety Katie-bug, Sherlick Holmews, Animation Adventures, and Chibi Horsewoman. If I've missed anyone, please let me know!


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